Portable electronic device for instant messaging multiple recipients

ABSTRACT

A portable electronic device with a touch screen display displays a list of instant messaging conversations including a group conversation. The group conversation includes a first multi-recipient identifier and a group conversation indicia. In response to detecting a user selection of the group conversation, the device displays a set of outgoing messages from a user of the device to multiple recipients in a chronological order and a second multi-recipient identifier. The device receives a new outgoing message for the group conversation entered by the user of the device through the touch screen display, and responds to detecting a user request to send the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients by sending the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients in the group conversation. The new outgoing message is appended to the set of outgoing messages displayed on the touch screen display.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 61/019,292, “Portable Electronic Device for Instant MessagingMultiple Recipients,” filed Jan. 6, 2008, is incorporated by referencedherein in its entirety.

This application is related to the following applications: (1) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/188,182, “Touch Pad For Handheld Device,”filed Jul. 1, 2002; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/722,948,“Touch Pad For Handheld Device,” filed Nov. 25, 2003; (3) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/643,256, “Movable Touch Pad With AddedFunctionality,” filed Aug. 18, 2003; (4) U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/654,108, “Ambidextrous Mouse,” filed Sep. 2, 2003; (5) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862, “Multipoint Touchscreen,” filedMay 6, 2004; (6) U.S. patent application Ser. No: 10/903,964, “GesturesFor Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jul. 30, 2004; (7) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical User InterfacesFor Touch Sensitive Input Devices” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (8) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/057,050, “Display Actuator,” filed Feb. 11,2005; (9) U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/658,777,“Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,” filed Mar. 4, 2005; (10) U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-HeldDevice,” filed Mar. 3, 2006; and (11) U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/848,208, “Portable Electronic Device for Instant Messaging,” filedAug. 30, 2007; (12) Ser. No. 11/850,635, “Touch Screen Device, Method,and Graphical User Interface for Determining Commands by ApplyingHeuristics,” filed Sep. 5, 2007; and (13) Ser. No. 12/163,908, “PortableElectronic Device with Conversation Management for Incoming InstantMessages,” filed Jun. 27, 2008. All of these applications areincorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosed embodiments relate generally to portable electronicdevices, and more particularly, to portable devices for performinginstant messaging.

BACKGROUND

As portable electronic devices become more compact, and the number offunctions performed by a given device increase, it has become asignificant challenge to design a user interface that allows users toeasily interact with a multifunction device. This challenge isparticular significant for handheld portable devices, which have muchsmaller screens than desktop or laptop computers. This situation isunfortunate because the user interface is the gateway through whichusers receive not only content but also responses to user actions orbehaviors, including user attempts to access a device's features, tools,and functions.

Some portable communication devices (e.g., mobile telephones, sometimescalled mobile phones, cell phones, cellular telephones, and the like)have resorted to adding more pushbuttons, increasing the density ofpushbuttons, overloading the functions of the pushbuttons, or usingcomplex menu systems to allow a user to access, store and manipulatedata. These conventional user interfaces often result in complicated keysequences and menu hierarchies that must be memorized by the user.

Many conventional user interfaces, such as those that include physicalpushbuttons, are also inflexible. This is unfortunate because it mayprevent a user interface from being configured and/or adapted by eitheran application running on the portable device or by users. When coupledwith the time consuming requirement to memorize multiple key sequencesand menu hierarchies, and the difficulty in activating a desiredpushbutton, such inflexibility is frustrating to most users.

Portable device-based Instant Messaging (IM) services are becomingincreasingly popular. But most IM services on portable electronicdevices have a rudimentary user interface. It is cumbersome to createinstant messages on such devices. A user often needs to press atelephone keypad repeatedly to choose a character. It is also difficultto find and view previous instant messages. For example, it isinconvenient or even impossible for the user to view a series ofprevious messages with a particular user while composing a new messagefor that user.

IM services also typically do not allow the user to send telephony-basedinstant messages to multiple recipients in an intuitive manner.Interfaces for adding multiple recipients of an instant message are timeconsuming because they often require a user to repeatedly press manykeys before all recipients are added. Furthermore, many of theseinterfaces do not allow the user to send a reply or another message tothe set of multiple recipients without re-selecting all of the multiplerecipients.

IM services also typically do not provide an intuitive interface forresponding or viewing message when the device is in locked or unlockedmode. Many of the existing IM services also do not allow the user toview the message or a portion thereof without the user pressing a seriesof keys.

Accordingly, there is a need for portable multifunction devices withmore transparent and intuitive user interfaces for instant messagingthat are easy to use, configure, and/or adapt.

SUMMARY

The above deficiencies and other problems associated with userinterfaces for portable devices are reduced or eliminated by thedisclosed portable multifunction device. In some embodiments, the devicehas a touch-sensitive display (also known as a touch screen or a touchscreen display) with a graphical user interface (GUI), one or moreprocessors, memory and one or more modules, programs or sets ofinstructions stored in the memory for performing multiple functions. Insome embodiments, the user interacts with the GUI primarily throughfinger contacts and gestures on the touch screen display. Instructionsfor performing instant messaging operations may be included in acomputer program product configured for execution by one or moreprocessors.

One aspect of the invention involves a computer-implemented method inwhich a portable electronic device with a touch screen display displaysa list of instant messaging conversations including a groupconversation. The group conversation includes a first multi-recipientidentifier and a group conversation indicia. In response to detecting auser selection of the group conversation, the device displays a set ofoutgoing messages from a user of the device to multiple recipients in achronological order and a second multi-recipient identifier. The devicereceives a new outgoing message for the group conversation entered bythe user of the device through the touch screen display, and responds todetecting a user request to send the new outgoing message to themultiple recipients by sending the new outgoing message to the multiplerecipients in the group conversation. The new outgoing message isappended to the set of outgoing messages displayed on the touch screendisplay.

Another aspect of the invention involves a portable electronic devicehaving a touch screen display, one or more processors, memory, and oneor more programs. The one or more programs are stored in the memory andconfigured to be executed by the one or more processors. The programsinclude instructions for displaying a list of instant messagingconversations including a group conversation, wherein the groupconversation includes a first multi-recipient identifier and a groupconversation indicia. The programs further include instructions forresponding to detecting a user selection of the group conversation bydisplaying a set of outgoing messages from a user of the device tomultiple recipients in a chronological order and a secondmulti-recipient identifier. The programs also include instructions forreceiving a new outgoing message for the group conversation entered bythe user of the device through the touch screen display, for sending thenew outgoing message to the multiple recipients in the groupconversation in response to detecting a user request to send the newoutgoing message to the multiple recipients, and for appending the newoutgoing message to the set of outgoing messages displayed on the touchscreen display.

Another aspect of the invention involves a computer readable storagemedium have stored instructions therein, which when executed by aportable electronic device with a touch screen display, cause the deviceto display a list of instant messaging conversations including a groupconversation, wherein the group conversation includes a firstmulti-recipient identifier and a group conversation indicia. Theinstructions stored in the computer readable storage medium furtherinclude instructions for responding to detecting a user selection of thegroup conversation by displaying a set of outgoing messages from a userof the device to multiple recipients in a chronological order and asecond multi-recipient identifier. The computer readable storage mediumalso includes instructions to receive a new outgoing message for thegroup conversation entered by the user of the device through the touchscreen display, instructions to respond to detecting a user request tosend the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients by sending thenew outgoing message to the multiple recipients in the groupconversation, and instructions to append the new outgoing message to theset of outgoing messages displayed on the touch screen display.

Another aspect of the invention involves a graphical user interface(GUI) on a touch screen display. The GUI includes a list of instantmessaging conversations between a user of the device and one or morerespective other persons, where the list of conversations includes agroup conversation that includes a first multi-recipient identifier anda group conversation indicia. In response to detecting a user selectionof the group conversation, a set of outgoing messages from the user ofthe device to multiple recipients in a chronological order and a secondmulti-recipient identifier are displayed. When a new outgoing messagefor the group conversation entered by the user of the device is receivedthrough the touch screen display, and in response to detecting a userrequest to send the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients, thenew outgoing message is sent to the multiple recipients in the groupconversation and the new outgoing message is appended to the set ofoutgoing messages.

Another aspect of the invention is a portable electronic device having atouch screen display and means for displaying a list of instantmessaging conversations including a group conversation. The displayedinformation for the group conversation includes a first multi-recipientidentifier and a group conversation indicia. The device further includesmeans, responsive to detecting a user selection of the groupconversation, for displaying a set of outgoing messages from a user ofthe device to multiple recipients in a chronological order and a secondmulti-recipient identifier. Also included are means for receiving a newoutgoing message for the group conversation entered by the user of thedevice through the touch screen display, and means, responsive todetecting a user request to send the new outgoing message to themultiple recipients, for sending the new outgoing message to themultiple recipients in the group conversation and for appending the newoutgoing message to the set of outgoing messages displayed on the touchscreen display.

Thus, the invention provides a transparent and intuitive user interfacefor creating, viewing, and finding instant message conversations on aportable electronic device with a touch screen display.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the aforementioned embodiments of theinvention as well as additional embodiments thereof, reference should bemade to the Description of Embodiments below, in conjunction with thefollowing drawings in which like reference numerals refer tocorresponding parts throughout the figures.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a portable electronic device witha touch-sensitive display in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable electronic device having a touch screen inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary user interface for unlocking a portableelectronic device in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable electronic device in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface for listing instantmessage conversations on a portable electronic device in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIGS. 6A through 6K illustrate an exemplary user interface for inputtingtext for an instant message in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary user interface for deleting an instantmessage conversation in accordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an exemplary user interface for a contactlist in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary user interface for entering a phonenumber for instant messaging in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying a list ofinstant message conversations on a portable electronic device's touchscreen in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying a userselected instant message conversation upon detecting a predefined usercontact with the portable electronic device's touch screen in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying auser-entered character and word suggestions, if any, in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying respectivekeyboards upon detecting a user contact with a keyboard selection iconin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a process for interpreting themeaning of a particular user contact with the shift key in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process for sending an instantmessage to a respective recipient in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying a list ofinstant message conversations for editing in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process for editing a userselected instant message conversation in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a process for removing a userselected instant message conversation or exiting a conversation editmode in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying a list ofcontacts from which a user chooses to send an instant message inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a process for launching a newconversation using a new phone number in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary user interface for alerting a user to anew instant message in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 22A illustrates an exemplary user interface for displaying a listof instant messaging conversations on a portable electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 22B-22D illustrates exemplary user interfaces for selectingmultiple recipients of an instant message in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 22E illustrates an exemplary user interface for composing aninstant message to multiple recipients after user selection of therecipients in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 22F illustrates an exemplary user interface for displaying a listof instant messaging conversations including a group conversation and aresponse to an instant message sent to multiple recipients in accordancewith some embodiments.

FIGS. 22G-H illustrates exemplary user interfaces for displaying a setof outgoing messages between the user and one or more parties and forcomposing a message to one or more parties in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 22I-K illustrates exemplary user interfaces for displaying anerror message indicating a communication error when sending an outgoingmessage to the recipients in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 22L illustrates an exemplary user interface for replying to aninstant message and for displaying a list of instant messages in a groupconversation in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 22M illustrates an exemplary user interface for accessing detailedinformation on recipients of the group conversation while composing amessage to the group.

FIG. 22N illustrates an exemplary user interface for displaying detailedinformation associated with a contact in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 22O and 22P illustrate exemplary user interfaces for displayinginstant messaging conversations on a portable electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 22Q illustrates an exemplary user interface for displaying a set ofoutgoing messages between the user and one or more parties and forcomposing a message to one or more parties in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 23A illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300A for unlocking thetouch screen display of device when the device is in locked mode inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 23B illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300B for displaying anincoming message from a party to the user of the device and fordisplaying an unlock icon adaptively when the device is locked inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 23C illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300C for displaying amessage alert on the touch screen display in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 23D illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300D allowing the userto respond to an incoming message.

FIG. 23E illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300E for displaying anincoming message that is less than or equal to a predefined lengthaccording to some embodiments.

FIGS. 23F-G illustrates an exemplary user interface for designating thestatus of the incoming message. FIG. 23F shows an example of marking anincoming message with an “unread” message indicia in accordance withsome embodiments. FIG. 23G shows an example of an incoming message in“read” status by omitting the unread message indicia in accordance withsome embodiments.

FIG. 23H illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300H for composing areply message and for displaying a set of messages including theincoming message.

FIG. 23I illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300I for displaying anincoming message that is longer than a predefined length while thedevice is unlocked according to some embodiments.

FIG. 23J illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300J for displaying alist of conversations in response to detecting user selection of theclose icon when the incoming message is longer than a predefined lengthaccording to some embodiments.

FIG. 23K illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300K for displaying aset of messages between the user of the device and the party that sentthe incoming message in a chronological order according to someembodiments.

FIG. 23L illustrates an exemplary user interface for displaying amessage with an unread message indicia in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram for illustrating an exemplary process foradding multiple recipients to an instant message through finger gesturesin accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 2500 fordisplaying a list of instant messaging conversations including a groupconversation and for sending a new outgoing message to multiplerecipients in the group conversation in accordance with someembodiments. Method 2500 occurs at a portable electronic device with atouch screen display.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process fordisplaying an error message indicating a communication error whensending the new outgoing message and for resending the message after anerror in accordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process fordisplaying an error message in connection with sending the new outgoingmessage to at least one of the multiple recipients when a non-messagingapplication is being used while sending the outgoing message inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIG. 28 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process for replyingto an existing conversation between the user of the device and therecipient, and for generating a new conversation between the user of thedevice and the recipient of the message in accordance with someembodiments.

FIG. 29 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary process forrevealing and hiding contact details in accordance with someembodiments.

FIGS. 30A-30B are a flow diagrams illustrating an exemplary process fordisplaying an incoming message while the device is in locked mode inaccordance with some embodiments.

FIGS. 31A-31C are flow diagrams illustrating an exemplary process fordisplaying an incoming message to the user of the device when the deviceis unlocked in accordance with some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments, examples of whichare illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following detaileddescription, numerous specific details are set forth in order to providea thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will beapparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present inventionmay be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known methods, procedures, components, circuits, and networks havenot been described in detail so as not to unnecessarily obscure aspectsof the embodiments.

It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc.may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements shouldnot be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguishone element from another. For example, a first gesture could be termed asecond gesture, and, similarly, a second gesture could be termed a firstgesture, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The terminology used in the description of the invention herein is forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is notintended to be limiting of the invention. As used in the description ofthe invention and the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an” and“the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless thecontext clearly indicates otherwise. It will also be understood that theterm “and/or” as used herein refers to and encompasses any and allpossible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. Itwill be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or“comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence ofstated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/orcomponents, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or moreother features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

As used herein, the term “if” may be construed to mean “when” or “upon”or “in response to determining” or “in response to detecting,” dependingon the context. Similarly, the phrase “if it is determined” or “if [astated condition or event] is detected” may be construed to mean “upondetermining” or “in response to determining” or “upon detecting [thestated condition or event]” or “in response to detecting [the statedcondition or event],” depending on the context.

Embodiments of a portable multifunction device, user interfaces for suchdevices, and associated processes for using such devices are described.In some embodiments, the device is a portable communications device suchas a mobile telephone that also contains other functions, such as PDAand/or music player functions.

The user interface may include a physical click wheel in addition to atouch screen or a virtual click wheel displayed on the touch screen. Aclick wheel is a user-interface device that may provide navigationcommands based on an angular displacement of the wheel or a point ofcontact with the wheel by a user of the device. A click wheel may alsobe used to provide a user command corresponding to selection of one ormore items, for example, when the user of the device presses down on atleast a portion of the wheel or the center of the wheel. Alternatively,breaking contact with a click wheel image on a touch screen surface mayindicate a user command corresponding to selection. For simplicity, inthe discussion that follows, a portable multifunction device thatincludes a touch screen is used as an exemplary embodiment. It should beunderstood, however, that some of the user interfaces and associatedprocesses may be applied to other devices, such as personal computersand laptop computers, which may include one or more other physicaluser-interface devices, such as a physical click wheel, a physicalkeyboard, a mouse and/or a joystick.

The device supports a variety of applications, such as one or more ofthe following: a telephone application, a video conferencingapplication, an e-mail application, an instant messaging application, ablogging application, a photo management application, a digital cameraapplication, a digital video camera application, a web browsingapplication, a digital music player application, and/or a digital videoplayer application.

The various applications that may be executed on the device may use atleast one common physical user-interface device, such as the touchscreen. One or more functions of the touch screen as well ascorresponding information displayed on the device may be adjusted and/orvaried from one application to the next and/or within a respectiveapplication. In this way, a common physical architecture (such as thetouch screen) of the device may support the variety of applications withuser interfaces that are intuitive and transparent.

The user interfaces may include one or more soft keyboard embodiments.The soft keyboard embodiments may include standard (QWERTY) and/ornon-standard configurations of symbols on the displayed icons of thekeyboard, such as those described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/459,606, “Keyboards For Portable Electronic Devices,” filed Jul. 24,2006, and Ser. No. 11/459,615, “Touch Screen Keyboards For PortableElectronic Devices,” filed Jul. 24, 2006, the contents of which arehereby incorporated by reference in their entirety. The keyboardembodiments may include a reduced number of icons (or soft keys)relative to the number of keys in existing physical keyboards, such asthat for a typewriter. This may make it easier for users to select oneor more icons in the keyboard, and thus, one or more correspondingsymbols. The keyboard embodiments may be adaptive. For example,displayed icons may be modified in accordance with user actions, such asselecting one or more icons and/or one or more corresponding symbols.One or more applications on the portable device may utilize commonand/or different keyboard embodiments. Thus, the keyboard embodimentused may be tailored to at least some of the applications. In someembodiments, one or more keyboard embodiments may be tailored to arespective user. For example, one or more keyboard embodiments may betailored to a respective user based on a word usage history(lexicography, slang, individual usage) of the respective user. Some ofthe keyboard embodiments may be adjusted to reduce a probability of auser error when selecting one or more icons, and thus one or moresymbols, when using the soft keyboard embodiments.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of the device. FIGS. 1Aand 1B are block diagrams illustrating portable multifunction devices100 with touch-sensitive displays 112 in accordance with someembodiments. The touch-sensitive display 112 is sometimes called a“touch screen” for convenience, and may also be known as or called atouch-sensitive display system. The device 100 may include a memory 102(which may include one or more computer readable storage mediums), amemory controller 122, one or more processing units (CPU's) 120, aperipherals interface 118, RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, aspeaker 111, a microphone 113, an input/output (I/O) subsystem 106,other input or control devices 116, and an external port 124. The device100 may include one or more optical sensors 164. These components maycommunicate over one or more communication buses or signal lines 103.

It should be appreciated that the device 100 is only one example of aportable multifunction device 100, and that the device 100 may have moreor fewer components than shown, may combine two or more components, or amay have a different configuration or arrangement of the components. Thevarious components shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B may be implemented inhardware, software or a combination of both hardware and software,including one or more signal processing and/or application specificintegrated circuits.

Memory 102 may include high-speed random access memory and may alsoinclude non-volatile memory, such as one or more magnetic disk storagedevices, flash memory devices, or other non-volatile solid-state memorydevices. Access to memory 102 by other components of the device 100,such as the CPU 120 and the peripherals interface 118, may be controlledby the memory controller 122.

The peripherals interface 118 couples the input and output peripheralsof the device to the CPU 120 and memory 102. The one or more processors120 run or execute various software programs and/or sets of instructionsstored in memory 102 to perform various functions for the device 100 andto process data.

In some embodiments, the peripherals interface 118, the CPU 120, and thememory controller 122 may be implemented on a single chip, such as achip 104. In some other embodiments, they may be implemented on separatechips.

The RF (radio frequency) circuitry 108 receives and sends RF signals,also called electromagnetic signals. The RF circuitry 108 convertselectrical signals to/from electromagnetic signals and communicates withcommunications networks and other communications devices via theelectromagnetic signals. The RF circuitry 108 may include well-knowncircuitry for performing these functions, including but not limited toan antenna system, an RF transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner,one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a CODEC chipset, asubscriber identity module (SIM) card, memory, and so forth. The RFcircuitry 108 may communicate with networks, such as the Internet, alsoreferred to as the World Wide Web (WWW), an intranet and/or a wirelessnetwork, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local areanetwork (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN), and otherdevices by wireless communication. The wireless communication may useany of a plurality of communications standards, protocols andtechnologies, including but not limited to Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), high-speeddownlink packet access (HSDPA), wideband code division multiple access(W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multipleaccess (TDMA), Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a,IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over InternetProtocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for email (e.g., Internet messageaccess protocol (IMAP) and/or post office protocol (POP)), instantmessaging (e.g., extensible messaging and presence protocol (XMPP),Session Initiation Protocol for Instant Messaging and PresenceLeveraging Extensions (SIMPLE), and/or Instant Messaging and PresenceService (IMPS)), and/or Short Message Service (SMS)), or any othersuitable communication protocol, including communication protocols notyet developed as of the filing date of this document.

The audio circuitry 110, the speaker 111, and the microphone 113 providean audio interface between a user and the device 100. The audiocircuitry 110 receives audio data from the peripherals interface 118,converts the audio data to an electrical signal, and transmits theelectrical signal to the speaker 111. The speaker 111 converts theelectrical signal to human-audible sound waves. The audio circuitry 110also receives electrical signals converted by the microphone 113 fromsound waves. The audio circuitry 110 converts the electrical signal toaudio data and transmits the audio data to the peripherals interface 118for processing. Audio data may be retrieved from and/or transmitted tomemory 102 and/or the RF circuitry 108 by the peripherals interface 118.In some embodiments, the audio circuitry 110 also includes a headsetjack (e.g. 212, FIG. 2). The headset jack provides an interface betweenthe audio circuitry 110 and removable audio input/output peripherals,such as output-only headphones or a headset with both output (e.g., aheadphone for one or both ears) and input (e.g., a microphone).

The I/O subsystem 106 couples input/output peripherals on the device100, such as the touch screen 112 and other input/control devices 116,to the peripherals interface 118. The I/O subsystem 106 may include adisplay controller 156 and one or more input controllers 160 for otherinput or control devices. The one or more input controllers 160receive/send electrical signals from/to other input or control devices116. The other input/control devices 116 may include physical buttons(e.g., push buttons, rocker buttons, etc.), dials, slider switches,joysticks, click wheels, and so forth. In some alternate embodiments,input controller(s) 160 may be coupled to any (or none) of thefollowing: a keyboard, infrared port, USB port, and a pointer devicesuch as a mouse. The one or more buttons (e.g., 208, FIG. 2) may includean up/down button for volume control of the speaker 111 and/or themicrophone 113. The one or more buttons may include a push button (e.g.,206, FIG. 2). A quick press of the push button may disengage a lock ofthe touch screen 112 or begin a process that uses gestures on the touchscreen to unlock the device, as described in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/322,549, “Unlocking a Device by Performing Gestures on anUnlock Image,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. A longer press of the push button (e.g., 206)may turn power to the device 100 on or off. The user may be able tocustomize a functionality of one or more of the buttons. The touchscreen 112 is used to implement virtual or soft buttons and one or moresoft keyboards.

The touch-sensitive touch screen 112 provides an input interface and anoutput interface between the device and a user. The display controller156 receives and/or sends electrical signals from/to the touch screen112. The touch screen 112 displays visual output to the user. The visualoutput may include graphics, text, icons, video, and any combinationthereof (collectively termed “graphics”). In some embodiments, some orall of the visual output may correspond to user-interface objects,further details of which are described below.

A touch screen 112 has a touch-sensitive surface, sensor or set ofsensors that accepts input from the user based on haptic and/or tactilecontact. The touch screen 112 and the display controller 156 (along withany associated modules and/or sets of instructions in memory 102) detectcontact (and any movement or breaking of the contact) on the touchscreen 112 and converts the detected contact into interaction withuser-interface objects (e.g., one or more soft keys, icons, web pages orimages) that are displayed on the touch screen. In an exemplaryembodiment, a point of contact between a touch screen 112 and the usercorresponds to a finger of the user.

The touch screen 112 may use LCD (liquid crystal display) technology, orLPD (light emitting polymer display) technology, although other displaytechnologies may be used in other embodiments. The touch screen 112 andthe display controller 156 may detect contact and any movement orbreaking thereof using any of a plurality of touch sensing technologiesnow known or later developed, including but not limited to capacitive,resistive, infrared, and surface acoustic wave technologies, as well asother proximity sensor arrays or other elements for determining one ormore points of contact with a touch screen 112.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of the touch screen 112may be analogous to the multi-touch sensitive tablets described in thefollowing U.S. Pat. No. 6,323,846 (Westerman et al.), U.S. Pat. No.6,570,557 (Westerman et al.), and/or U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,932(Westerman), and/or U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0015024A1, each ofwhich is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. However, atouch screen 112 displays visual output from the portable device 100,whereas touch sensitive tablets do not provide visual output.

A touch-sensitive display in some embodiments of the touch screen 112may be as described in the following applications: (1) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/381,313, “Multipoint Touch Surface Controller,”filed May 2, 2006; (2) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/840,862,“Multipoint Touchscreen,” filed May 6, 2004; (3) U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/903,964, “Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filedJul. 30, 2004; (4) U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/048,264,“Gestures For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 31, 2005; (5)U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/038,590, “Mode-Based Graphical UserInterfaces For Touch Sensitive Input Devices,” filed Jan. 18, 2005; (6)U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,758, “Virtual Input DevicePlacement On A Touch Screen User Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (7)U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/228,700, “Operation Of A ComputerWith A Touch Screen Interface,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; (8) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/228,737, “Activating Virtual Keys Of ATouch-Screen Virtual Keyboard,” filed Sep. 16, 2005; and (9) U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/367,749, “Multi-Functional Hand-Held Device,”filed Mar. 3, 2006. All of these applications are incorporated byreference in their entirety herein.

The touch screen 112 may have a resolution in excess of 100 dpi. In anexemplary embodiment, the touch screen has a resolution of approximately160 dpi. The user may make contact with the touch screen 112 using anysuitable object or appendage, such as a stylus, a finger, and so forth.In some embodiments, the user interface is designed to work primarilywith finger-based contacts and gestures, which are much less precisethan stylus-based input due to the larger area of contact of a finger onthe touch screen. In some embodiments, the device translates the roughfinger-based input into a precise pointer/cursor position or command forperforming the actions desired by the user.

In some embodiments, in addition to the touch screen, the device 100 mayinclude a touchpad (not shown) for activating or deactivating particularfunctions. In some embodiments, the touchpad is a touch-sensitive areaof the device that, unlike the touch screen, does not display visualoutput. The touchpad may be a touch-sensitive surface that is separatefrom the touch screen 112 or an extension of the touch-sensitive surfaceformed by the touch screen.

In some embodiments, the device 100 may include a physical or virtualclick wheel as an input control device 116. A user may navigate amongand interact with one or more graphical objects (henceforth referred toas icons) displayed in the touch screen 112 by rotating the click wheelor by moving a point of contact with the click wheel (e.g., where theamount of movement of the point of contact is measured by its angulardisplacement with respect to a center point of the click wheel). Theclick wheel may also be used to select one or more of the displayedicons. For example, the user may press down on at least a portion of theclick wheel or an associated button. User commands and navigationcommands provided by the user via the click wheel may be processed by aninput controller 160 as well as one or more of the modules and/or setsof instructions in memory 102. For a virtual click wheel, the clickwheel and click wheel controller may be part of the touch screen 112 andthe display controller 156, respectively. For a virtual click wheel, theclick wheel may be either an opaque or semitransparent object thatappears and disappears on the touch screen display in response to userinteraction with the device. In some embodiments, a virtual click wheelis displayed on the touch screen of a portable multifunction device andoperated by user contact with the touch screen.

The device 100 also includes a power system 162 for powering the variouscomponents. The power system 162 may include a power management system,one or more power sources (e.g., battery, alternating current (AC)), arecharging system, a power failure detection circuit, a power converteror inverter, a power status indicator (e.g., a light-emitting diode(LED)) and any other components associated with the generation,management and distribution of power in portable devices.

The device 100 may also include one or more optical sensors 164. FIGS.1A and 1B show an optical sensor coupled to an optical sensor controller158 in I/O subsystem 106. The optical sensor 164 may includecharge-coupled device (CCD) or complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(CMOS) phototransistors. The optical sensor 164 receives light from theenvironment, projected through one or more lens, and converts the lightto data representing an image. In conjunction with an imaging module 143(also called a camera module), the optical sensor 164 may capture stillimages or video. In some embodiments, an optical sensor is located onthe back of the device 100, opposite the touch screen display 112 on thefront of the device, so that the touch screen display may be used as aviewfinder for either still and/or video image acquisition. In someembodiments, an optical sensor is located on the front of the device sothat the user's image may be obtained for videoconferencing while theuser views the other video conference participants on the touch screendisplay. In some embodiments, the position of the optical sensor 164 canbe changed by the user (e.g., by rotating the lens and the sensor in thedevice housing) so that a single optical sensor 164 may be used alongwith the touch screen display for both video conferencing and stilland/or video image acquisition.

The device 100 may also include one or more proximity sensors 166. FIGS.1A and 1B show a proximity sensor 166 coupled to the peripheralsinterface 118. Alternately, the proximity sensor 166 may be coupled toan input controller 160 in the I/O subsystem 106. The proximity sensor166 may perform as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/241,839, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device,” filed Sep. 30,2005; Ser. No. 11/240,788, “Proximity Detector In Handheld Device,”filed Sep. 30, 2005; Ser. No. 11/620,702, “Using Ambient Light Sensor ToAugment Proximity Sensor Output”; Ser. No. 11/586,862, “AutomatedResponse To And Sensing Of User Activity In Portable Devices,” filedOct. 24, 2006; and Ser. No. 11/638,251, “Methods And Systems ForAutomatic Configuration Of Peripherals,” which are hereby incorporatedby reference herein in their entirety. In some embodiments, theproximity sensor turns off and disables the touch screen 112 when themultifunction device is placed near the user's ear (e.g., when the useris making a phone call). In some embodiments, the proximity sensor keepsthe screen off when the device is in the user's pocket, purse, or otherdark area to prevent unnecessary battery drainage when the device is alocked state.

The device 100 may also include one or more accelerometers 168. FIGS. 1Aand 1B show an accelerometer 168 coupled to the peripherals interface118. Alternately, the accelerometer 168 may be coupled to an inputcontroller 160 in the I/O subsystem 106. The accelerometer 168 mayperform as described in U.S. Patent Publication No. 20050190059,“Acceleration-based Theft Detection System for Portable ElectronicDevices,” and U.S. Patent Publication No. 20060017692, “Methods AndApparatuses For Operating A Portable Device Based On An Accelerometer,”both of which are which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety. In some embodiments, information is displayed on the touchscreen display in a portrait view or a landscape view based on ananalysis of data received from the one or more accelerometers.

In some embodiments, the software components stored in memory 102 mayinclude an operating system 126, a communication module (or set ofinstructions) 128, a contact/motion module (or set of instructions) 130,a graphics module (or set of instructions) 132, a text input module (orset of instructions) 134, a Global Positioning System (GPS) module (orset of instructions) 135, and applications (or set of instructions) 136.

The operating system 126 (e.g., Darwin, RTXC, LINUX, UNIX, OS X,WINDOWS, or an embedded operating system such as VxWorks) includesvarious software components and/or drivers for controlling and managinggeneral system tasks (e.g., memory management, storage device control,power management, etc.) and facilitates communication between varioushardware and software components.

The communication module 128 facilitates communication with otherdevices over one or more external ports 124 and also includes varioussoftware components for handling data received by the RF circuitry 108and/or the external port 124. The external port 124 (e.g., UniversalSerial Bus (USB), FIREWIRE, etc.) is adapted for coupling directly toother devices or indirectly over a network (e.g., the Internet, wirelessLAN, etc.). In some embodiments, the external port is a multi-pin (e.g.,30-pin) connector that is the same as, or similar to and/or compatiblewith the 30-pin connector used on iPod (trademark of Apple Computer,Inc.) devices.

The contact/motion module 130 may detect contact with the touch screen112 (in conjunction with the display controller 156) and other touchsensitive devices (e.g., a touchpad or physical click wheel). Thecontact/motion module 130 includes various software components forperforming various operations related to detection of contact, such asdetermining if contact has occurred, determining if there is movement ofthe contact and tracking the movement across the touch screen 112, anddetermining if the contact has been broken (i.e., if the contact hasceased). Determining movement of the point of contact may includedetermining speed (magnitude), velocity (magnitude and direction),and/or an acceleration (a change in magnitude and/or direction) of thepoint of contact. These operations may be applied to single contacts(e.g., one finger contacts) or to multiple simultaneous contacts (e.g.,“multitouch”/multiple finger contacts). In some embodiments, thecontact/motion module 130 and the display controller 156 also detectscontact on a touchpad. In some embodiments, the contact/motion module130 and the controller 160 detects contact on a click wheel.

The graphics module 132 includes various known software components forrendering and displaying graphics on the touch screen 112, includingcomponents for changing the intensity of graphics that are displayed. Asused herein, the term “graphics” includes any object that can bedisplayed to a user, including without limitation text, web pages, icons(such as user-interface objects including soft keys), digital images,videos, animations and the like. An animation in this context is adisplay of a sequence of images that gives the appearance of movement,and informs the user of an action that has been performed (such asexpanding a user-selected web-page portion to fill a browser window). Inthis context, a respective animation that executes an action, orconfirms an action by the user of the device, typically takes apredefined, finite amount of time, typically between 0.2 and 1.0seconds, and generally less than two seconds.

The text input module 134, which may be a component of graphics module132, provides soft keyboards for entering text in various applications(e.g., contacts 137, e-mail 140, IM 141, blogging 142, browser 147, andany other application that needs text input).

The GPS module 135 determines the location of the device and providesthis information for use in various applications (e.g., to telephone 138for use in location-based dialing, to camera 143 and/or blogger 142 aspicture/video metadata, and to applications that provide location-basedservices such as weather widgets, local yellow page widgets, andmap/navigation widgets).

The applications 136 may include the following modules (or sets ofinstructions), or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   a contacts module 137 (sometimes called an address book or        contact list);    -   a telephone module 138;    -   a video conferencing module 139;    -   an e-mail client module 140;    -   an instant messaging (IM) module 141;    -   a blogging module 142;    -   a camera module 143 for still and/or video images;    -   an image management module 144;    -   a video player module 145;    -   a music player module 146;    -   a browser module 147;    -   a calendar module 148;    -   widget modules 149, which may include weather widget 149-1,        stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3, alarm clock widget        149-4, dictionary widget 149-5, and other widgets obtained by        the user, as well as user-created widgets 149-6;    -   widget creator module 150 for making user-created widgets 149-6;    -   search module 151;    -   video and music player module 152, which merges video player        module 145 and music player module 146;    -   notes module 153;    -   map module 154; and/or    -   online video module 155.

Examples of other applications 136 that may be stored in memory 102include other word processing applications, JAVA-enabled applications,encryption, digital rights management, voice recognition, and voicereplication.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, the contactsmodule 137 may be used to manage an address book or contact list,including: adding name(s) to the address book; deleting name(s) from theaddress book; associating telephone number(s), e-mail address(es),physical address(es) or other information with a name; associating animage with a name; categorizing and sorting names; providing telephonenumbers or e-mail addresses to initiate and/or facilitate communicationsby telephone 138, video conference 139, e-mail 140, or IM 141; and soforth.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, contact module130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, the telephonemodule 138 may be used to enter a sequence of characters correspondingto a telephone number, access one or more telephone numbers in theaddress book 137, modify a telephone number that has been entered, diala respective telephone number, conduct a conversation and disconnect orhang up when the conversation is completed. As noted above, the wirelesscommunication may use any of a plurality of communications standards,protocols and technologies.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, audio circuitry 110, speaker 111,microphone 113, touch screen 112, display controller 156, optical sensor164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130, graphics module132, text input module 134, contact list 137, and telephone module 138,the videoconferencing module 139 may be used to initiate, conduct, andterminate a video conference between a user and one or more otherparticipants.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, the e-mail client module 140 may be used to create, send,receive, and manage e-mail. In conjunction with image management module144, the e-mail module 140 makes it very easy to create and send e-mailswith still or video images taken with camera module 143.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, the instant messaging module 141 may be used to enter asequence of characters corresponding to an instant message, to modifypreviously entered characters, to transmit a respective instant message(for example, using a Short Message Service (SMS) or Multimedia MessageService (MMS) protocol for telephony-based instant messages or usingXMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS for Internet-based instant messages), to receiveinstant messages and to view received instant messages. In someembodiments, transmitted and/or received instant messages may includegraphics, photos, audio files, video files and/or other attachments asare supported in a MMS and/or an Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS). Asused herein, “instant messaging” refers to both telephony-based messages(e.g., messages sent using SMS or MMS) and Internet-based messages(e.g., messages sent using XMPP, SIMPLE, or IMPS).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, displaycontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, image management module 144, and browsing module 147, theblogging module 142 may be used to send text, still images, video,and/or other graphics to a blog (e.g., the user's blog).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, opticalsensor(s) 164, optical sensor controller 158, contact module 130,graphics module 132, and image management module 144, the camera module143 may be used to capture still images or video (including a videostream) and store them into memory 102, modify characteristics of astill image or video, or delete a still image or video from memory 102.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, text input module 134, and cameramodule 143, the image management module 144 may be used to arrange,modify or otherwise manipulate, label, delete, present (e.g., in adigital slide show or album), and store still and/or video images.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, and speaker 111,the video player module 145 may be used to display, present or otherwiseplay back videos (e.g., on the touch screen or on an external, connecteddisplay via external port 124).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, and browser module 147, the music player module146 allows the user to download and play back recorded music and othersound files stored in one or more file formats, such as MP3 or AACfiles. In some embodiments, the device 100 may include the functionalityof an MP3 player, such as an iPod (trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text inputmodule 134, the browser module 147 may be used to browse the Internet,including searching, linking to, receiving, and displaying web pages orportions thereof, as well as attachments and other files linked to webpages. Embodiments of user interfaces and associated processes usingbrowser module 147 are described further below.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, e-mail module 140, and browser module 147, the calendarmodule 148 may be used to create, display, modify, and store calendarsand data associated with calendars (e.g., calendar entries, to do lists,etc.).

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, the widget modules 149 aremini-applications that may be downloaded and used by a user (e.g.,weather widget 149-1, stocks widget 149-2, calculator widget 149-3,alarm clock widget 149-4, and dictionary widget 149-5) or created by theuser (e.g., user-created widget 149-6). In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (CascadingStyle Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file. In some embodiments, a widgetincludes an XML (Extensible Markup Language) file and a JavaScript file(e.g., Yahoo! Widgets). Embodiments of user interfaces and associatedprocesses using widget modules 149 are described further below.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, and browser module 147, the widget creator module 150 may beused by a user to create widgets (e.g., turning a user-specified portionof a web page into a web-clip widget). In some embodiments, a web-clipwidget comprises a file containing an XML property list that includes aURL for the web page and data indicating the user-specified portion ofthe web page. In some embodiments, the data indicating theuser-specified portion of the web page includes a reference point and ascale factor. In some embodiments, the data indicating theuser-specified portion of the web page includes a set of coordinateswithin the web page or an identification of a structural element withinthe web page. Alternatively, in some embodiments a web-clip widgetincludes an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) file, a CSS (CascadingStyle Sheets) file, and a JavaScript file, or an XML (Extensible MarkupLanguage) file and a JavaScript file.

In some embodiments a web-clip widget includes an image file (e.g., apng file) of an icon corresponding to the widget. In some embodiments, aweb-clip widget corresponds to a folder containing the image file and afile that includes a URL for the web page and data indicating theuser-specified portion of the web page. In some embodiments, a web-clipwidget corresponds to a folder containing the image file and anexecutable script.

Embodiments of user interfaces and associated processes using widgetcreator module 150 are described further below.

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, thesearch module 151 may be used to search for text, music, sound, image,video, and/or other files in memory 102 that match one or more searchcriteria (e.g., one or more user-specified search terms).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display controller 156, contactmodule 130, graphics module 132, and text input module 134, the notesmodule 153 may be used to create and manage notes, to do lists, and thelike.

In conjunction with RF circuitry 108, touch screen 112, display systemcontroller 156, contact module 130, graphics module 132, text inputmodule 134, GPS module 135, and browser module 147, the map module 154may be used to receive, display, modify, and store maps and dataassociated with maps (e.g., driving directions; data on stores and otherpoints of interest at or near a particular location; and otherlocation-based data).

In conjunction with touch screen 112, display system controller 156,contact module 130, graphics module 132, audio circuitry 110, speaker111, RF circuitry 108, text input module 134, e-mail client module 140,and browser module 147, the online video module 155 allows the user toaccess, browse, receive (e.g., by streaming and/or download), play back(e.g., on the touch screen or on an external, connected display viaexternal port 124), send an e-mail with a link to a particular onlinevideo, and otherwise manage online videos in one or more file formats,such as H.264. In some embodiments, instant messaging module 141, ratherthan e-mail client module 140, is used to send a link to a particularonline video. Additional description of the online video application canbe found in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/936,562,“Portable Multifunction Device, Method, and Graphical User Interface forPlaying Online Videos,” filed Jun. 20, 2007, the content of which ishereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Each of the above identified modules and applications correspond to aset of instructions for performing one or more functions describedabove. These modules (i.e., sets of instructions) need not beimplemented as separate software programs, procedures or modules, andthus various subsets of these modules may be combined or otherwisere-arranged in various embodiments. For example, video player module 145may be combined with music player module 146 into a single module (e.g.,video and music player module 152, FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, memory102 may store a subset of the modules and data structures identifiedabove. Furthermore, memory 102 may store additional modules and datastructures not described above.

In some embodiments, the device 100 is a device where operation of apredefined set of functions on the device is performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen 112 and/or a touchpad. By using a touch screenand/or a touchpad as the primary input/control device for operation ofthe device 100, the number of physical input/control devices (such aspush buttons, dials, and the like) on the device 100 may be reduced.

The predefined set of functions that may be performed exclusivelythrough a touch screen and/or a touchpad include navigation between userinterfaces. In some embodiments, the touchpad, when touched by the user,navigates the device 100 to a main, home, or root menu from any userinterface that may be displayed on the device 100. In such embodiments,the touchpad may be referred to as a “menu button.” In some otherembodiments, the menu button may be a physical push button or otherphysical input/control device instead of a touchpad.

FIG. 2 illustrates a portable multifunction device 100 having a touchscreen 112 in accordance with some embodiments. The touch screen maydisplay one or more graphics within user interface (UI) 200. In thisembodiment, as well as others described below, a user may select one ormore of the graphics by making contact or touching the graphics, forexample, with one or more fingers 202 (not drawn to scale in thefigure). In some embodiments, selection of one or more graphics occurswhen the user breaks contact with the one or more graphics. In someembodiments, the contact may include a gesture, such as one or moretaps, one or more swipes (from left to right, right to left, upwardand/or downward) and/or a rolling of a finger (from right to left, leftto right, upward and/or downward) that has made contact with the device100. In some embodiments, inadvertent contact with a graphic may notselect the graphic. For example, a swipe gesture that sweeps over anapplication icon may not select the corresponding application when thegesture corresponding to selection is a tap.

The device 100 may also include one or more physical buttons, such as“home” or menu button 204. As described previously, the menu button 204may be used to navigate to any application 136 in a set of applicationsthat may be executed on the device 100. Alternatively, in someembodiments, the menu button is implemented as a soft key in a GUI intouch screen 112.

In one embodiment, the device 100 includes a touch screen 112, a menubutton 204, a push button 206 for powering the device on/off and lockingthe device, volume adjustment button(s) 208, a Subscriber IdentityModule (SIM) card slot 210, a head set jack 212, and a docking/chargingexternal port 124. The push button 206 may be used to turn the poweron/off on the device by depressing the button and holding the button inthe depressed state for a predefined time interval; to lock the deviceby depressing the button and releasing the button before the predefinedtime interval has elapsed; and/or to unlock the device or initiate anunlock process. In an alternative embodiment, the device 100 also mayaccept verbal input for activation or deactivation of some functionsthrough the microphone 113.

Attention is now directed towards embodiments of user interfaces (“UI”)and associated processes that may be implemented on a portablemultifunction device 100.

FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary user interface for unlocking a portableelectronic device in accordance with some embodiments. In someembodiments, user interface 300 includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   Unlock image 302 that is moved with a finger gesture to unlock        the device;    -   Arrow 304 that provides a visual cue to the unlock gesture;    -   Channel 306 that provides additional cues to the unlock gesture;    -   Time 308;    -   Day 310;    -   Date 312; and    -   Wallpaper image 314.

In some embodiments, the device detects contact with the touch-sensitivedisplay (e.g., a user's finger making contact on or near the unlockimage 302) while the device is in a user-interface lock state. Thedevice moves the unlock image 302 in accordance with the contact. Thedevice transitions to a user-interface unlock state if the detectedcontact corresponds to a predefined gesture, such as moving the unlockimage across channel 306. Conversely, the device maintains theuser-interface lock state if the detected contact does not correspond tothe predefined gesture. This process saves battery power by ensuringthat the device is not accidentally awakened. This process is easy forusers to perform, in part because of the visual cue(s) provided on thetouch screen.

As noted above, processes that use gestures on the touch screen tounlock the device are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/322,549, “Unlocking A Device By Performing Gestures On An UnlockImage,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, and Ser. No. 11/322,550, “Indication OfProgress Towards Satisfaction Of A User Input Condition,” filed Dec. 23,2005, which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary user interface for a menu ofapplications on a portable multifunction device in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, user interface 400 includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   Signal strength indicator 402 for wireless communication;    -   Time 404;    -   Battery status indicator 406;    -   Tray 408 with icons for frequently used applications, such as:        -   Phone 138;        -   E-mail client 140, which may include an indicator 410 of the            number of unread e-mails;        -   Browser 147; and        -   Music player 146; and    -   Icons for other applications, such as:        -   IM 141;        -   Image management 144;        -   Camera 143;        -   Video player 145;        -   Weather 149-1;        -   Stocks 149-2;        -   Blog 142;        -   Calendar 148;        -   Calculator 149-3;        -   Alarm clock 149-4;        -   Dictionary 149-5;        -   User-created widget 149-6; and        -   Other applications (not shown)(e.g., map 154 and online            video 155).

In some embodiments, UI 400 displays all of the available applications136 on one screen so that there is no need to scroll through a list ofapplications (e.g., via a scroll bar). In some embodiments, as thenumber of applications increase, the icons corresponding to theapplications may decrease in size so that all applications may bedisplayed on a single screen without scrolling. In some embodiments,having all applications on one screen and a menu button enables a userto access any desired application with at most two inputs, such asactivating the menu button 204 and then activating the desiredapplication (e.g., by a tap or other finger gesture on the iconcorresponding to the application).

In some embodiments, UI 400 provides integrated access to bothwidget-based applications and non-widget-based applications. In someembodiments, all of the widgets, whether user-created or not, aredisplayed in UI 400A. In other embodiments, activating the icon foruser-created widget 149-6 may lead to another UI (not shown) thatdisplays the user-created widgets or icons corresponding to theuser-created widgets. A user may activate a particular widget bygesturing on the corresponding name or icon.

In some embodiments, a user may rearrange the icons in UI 400, e.g.,using processes described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/459,602, “Portable Electronic Device With Interface ReconfigurationMode,” filed Jul. 24, 2006, which is hereby incorporated by reference inits entirety. For example, a user may move application icons in and outof tray 408 using finger gestures.

In some embodiments, UI 400 includes a gauge (not shown) that displaysan updated account usage metric for an account associated with usage ofthe device (e.g., a cellular phone account), as described in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/322,552, “Account Information Display ForPortable Communication Device,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary user interface for listing instantmessage conversations on a portable electronic device in accordance withsome embodiments. An instant message conversation includes a set ofmessages exchanged between a user of the portable electronic device andone or more other persons. In some embodiments, user interface 500includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, and 406, as described above;    -   “Instant Messages” or other similar label 502;    -   Names 504 of the persons a user has instant message        conversations with (e.g., Jane Doe 504-1) or the phone number if        the corresponding person's name is not available (e.g.,        408-123-4567 504-3);    -   Text 506 of the last message or a portion thereof in the        conversation (note that the last message could be the last one        either sent or received by the user);    -   Date 508 and/or time of the last message in the conversation;    -   Selection icon 510 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates transition to a UI for the        corresponding conversation (e.g., FIG. 6A for Jane Doe 504-1);    -   Edit icon 512 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture on        the icon) initiates transition to a UI for deleting        conversations (e.g., FIG. 7);    -   Create message icon 514 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates display of a user interface for        creating a new instant message and thus a new conversation; and    -   Vertical bar 516 that helps a user understand what portion of        the list of instant message conversations is being displayed.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying a list ofinstant message conversations on a portable electronic device's touchscreen in accordance with some embodiments. Upon detecting a fingergesture (1002) (e.g., a finger tap 412 on the IM icon 141, FIG. 4), theIM module 141 identifies a set of IM conversations (1004) and displaysthem on the touch screen (1006). To be able to edit an existingconversation or launch a new conversation, the portable device maydisplay an edit icon 512 and a create message icon 514, respectively, onthe touch screen (1008). The portable device monitors user contact withthe touch screen and acts accordingly (1010).

As shown in FIG. 5, the list of conversations may be displayed in achronological order. The conversation with “Jane Doe” is at the topbecause it is the only conversation that includes at least one messagegenerated today 508-1, which is assumed to be Jan. 29, 2006 in thisexample. In some embodiments, the conversations are ordered by thetimestamp of the most recent message in each conversation. In someembodiments, a conversation including at least one message that has notbeen checked by the user is highlighted in the touch screen. Forexample, the third conversation in the list is displayed using boldfacedcharacters to suggest that the user has not checked the recent messagesent by the person at the phone number 408-123-4567.

In some embodiments, the name 504 associated with an instant messageconversation is determined by finding an entry in the user's contactlist 137 that contains the phone number used by the instant messageconversation. If no such entry is found, then just the phone number isdisplayed (e.g., 504-3). In some embodiments, if the other person sendsmessages from two or more different phone numbers, the messages mayappear in the same conversation including the person's name if all thephone numbers used are found in the same entry (i.e., the entry for theother person) in the user's contact list 137. In some embodiments, theconversation includes messages sent from phone numbers and/or emailaddresses associated with the other person. In some embodiments, themessages sent by the other person include a first message sent from afirst address associated with the other person and a second message sentfrom a second address associated with the other person that is differentfrom the first address. In some embodiments, the first address is atelephone number and the second address is an email address. In someembodiments, the first and second addresses are two distinct telephonenumbers. In some embodiments, the first and second addresses are twodistinct email addresses.

In some other embodiments, if the other person sends messages from twoor more different phone numbers, the messages may appear in differentconversations corresponding to different numbers. The phone numbers orother identifiers are displayed next to the person's name to distinguishthese conversations from each other.

In some embodiments, the name field of an instant message conversationincludes names or other identifiers of multiple parties that participatein the conversation as message recipients and/or senders. If there is noroom for displaying all the names, a selected subset of names isdisplayed with a symbol like “ . . . ” at the end, indicating that thereare more parties in the conversation. By default, a message by the userof the portable electronic device is sent to all the parties of theconversation. For FIGS. 5-21 and the corresponding text, the IMconversations will be presumed to involve only two parties, the user andanother person. For FIGS. 22A-34 and the corresponding text, the IMconversations will be presumed to involve more than two parties.

Automatically binning the instant messages into “conversations” (instantmessages exchanged between the user of the device and a respectiveperson or phone number) makes it easier for the user to carry on andkeep track of instant message exchanges with multiple parties. As willbe described below, the user is not only able to see the last messagesent by the other party, the user can also visit old messages exchangedbetween the user and the other party.

In some embodiments, vertical bar 516 is displayed temporarily after anobject is detected on or near the touch screen display (e.g., a fingertouch is detected anywhere on the list of instant messageconversations). In some embodiments, the vertical bar 516 has a verticalposition on top of the displayed portion of the list that corresponds tothe vertical position in the list of the displayed portion of the list.In some embodiments, the vertical bar 516 has a vertical length thatcorresponds to the portion of the list being displayed. In someembodiments, if the entire list of IM conversations can be displayedsimultaneously on the touch screen 112, the vertical bar 516 is notdisplayed. In some embodiments, if the entire list of IM conversationscan be displayed simultaneously on the touch screen 112, the verticalbar 516 is displayed with a length that corresponds to the length of thelist display area (e.g., as shown in FIG. 5).

As noted above, the portable device monitors (1010) user contact withthe conversation list. When the user swipes his finger or a stylus onthe touch screen in a substantially vertical direction (1012), this usercontact may be interpreted as a scrolling gesture. In some embodiments,the scrolling gesture is independent of the horizontal position of theuser contact with the touch screen display. In some embodiments, thescrolling gesture is substantially independent of the horizontalposition of the user contact with the touch screen display (e.g., one ormore side regions of the touch screen display may be reserved for otherfunctions, such as functions corresponding to icons, soft keys orapplication navigation functions, and not available for the scrollgesture). The portable electronic device, accordingly, scrolls theconversation list and displays a different portion of the conversationlist (1020).

As shown in FIG. 5, the conversation list moves in a directionconsistent with the scrolling gesture 516. If the scrolling gesture isdownward (or upward), the conversation list also moves downward (orupward). Scrolling the conversation list downward will typically scrollthe list to earlier entries in the list, until the first entry isreached (e.g., Jane Doe 504-1). But if the user does not have too manyIM conversations, the portable electronic device may display the entireconversation list and the scrolling gesture has no effect.

If the user taps on the edit icon 512 using his finger or stylus (1018),the portable electronic device replaces the conversation list UI with anew UI that allows the user to edit the conversations. A more detaileddescription of the conversation editing feature is provided below inconnection with FIGS. 7 and 16.

Similarly, if the user taps on the message creation icon 514 (1019), theportable electronic device replaces the conversation list UI with a newUI that allows the user to create a new instant message and therefore anew conversation. A more detailed description of this feature isprovided below in connection with FIGS. 8A-8B, 9 and 19.

If the user taps on a particular conversation in the list (1014), theportable electronic device would interpret the tap as a gestureindicating that the user intends to check the messages associated withthe user selected conversation. Accordingly, the portable electronicdevice replaces the conversation list UI shown in FIG. 5 with aconversation UI for a user-selected conversation (e.g., as shown in FIG.6A).

FIGS. 6A through 6K illustrate an exemplary user interface for inputtingtext for an instant message in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, user interface 600A (FIG. 6A) includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, and 406, as described above;    -   Name 504 corresponding to the phone number or email address used        in the instant message conversation (or the phone number itself        if the name is not available);    -   Instant messages icon 602 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates transition to a UI listing        instant message conversations (e.g., UI 500);    -   Instant messages 604 from the other party, typically listed in        order along one side of UI 600A;    -   Instant messages 606 to the other party, typically listed in        order along the opposite side of UI 600A to show the back and        forth interplay of messages in the conversation;    -   Timestamps 608 for at least some of the instant messages;    -   Text entry box 612;    -   Return icon 614 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture        on the icon) initiates a new line in the message in text box        612;    -   Letter keyboard 616 for entering text in box 612;    -   Alternate keyboard selector icon 618 that when activated (e.g.,        by a finger gesture on the icon) initiates the display of a        different keyboard (e.g., 624, FIG. 6C);    -   Send icon 620 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture on        the icon) initiates sending of the message in text box 612 to        the other party (e.g., Jane Doe 504-1);    -   Shift key 628 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture on        the icon) capitalizes the next letter chosen on letter keyboard        616; and    -   Vertical bar 630 that helps a user understand what portion of        the list of instant messages in an IM conversation is being        displayed.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying a userselected instant message conversation upon detecting a predefined usercontact with the portable electronic device's touch screen in accordancewith some embodiments. In this example, the conversation with Jane Doeis displayed in response to a finger gesture 518 on the conversationwith Jane Doe (FIG. 5).

Upon detecting the user selection of the conversation with Jane Doe(1102), IM module 141 identifies a set of instant messages 604 and 606associated with the conversation (1104) and displays the instantmessages in a message display region of the touch screen in achronological order (1106). Because a user visiting an existingconversation may want to compose a new instant message to the otherperson, the portable electronic device also displays a message composeregion on the touch screen (1108). In some embodiments, the messagecompose region includes a text box 612 displaying characters entered bythe user, a send message icon 614, a letter keyboard 616, and a keyboardselector icon 618. The portable electronic device monitors the usercontact with the touch screen and responds accordingly (1110).

In some embodiments, the portable electronic device receives an instantmessage while the user of the device is using another application, e.g.,browsing a web page using the browser 147 or listening to music usingthe music player 146. In this case, the device may replace the userinterface of an on-going application with a new user interface on thetouch screen 112 or superimpose a new user interface on top of the userinterface for the on-going application. FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplaryuser interface for alerting a user to a new instant message inaccordance with some embodiments. This user interface may or may notsuspend or terminate the on-going application. For example, the user maystill listen to the music when this new user interface appears on thetouch screen 112. This may be true even if the user subsequently choosesto activate the IM module 141 and respond to the new message.

In some embodiments, the new user interface (e.g., UI2100, FIG. 21)includes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   the name 2102 of the person sending the instant message (e.g.,        Jane Doe), which may be determined by matching the phone number        or email address for the incoming instant message with a phone        number or email address in the user's contacts 137;    -   the newly received instant message or a portion thereof 2104        (e.g., “Do U want 2 . . . ”);    -   a first action icon 2106, e.g., “Ignore”; and    -   a second action icon 2108, e.g., “View.”        A user selection of the “Ignore” icon 2106 brings back the user        interface of the on-going application and the user can resume        the operation that was interrupted by the incoming message. A        user selection of the “View” icon 2108 may bypass the user        interface 500 and bring the user directly to the user interface        600A that includes the new instant message. The user can then        perform any message-related operations, as described below.

In some embodiments, the portable electronic device may receive aninstant message while it is in the lock mode. In this case, the devicemay include a visual alert indicating the arrival of the new message inthe user interface 300 and/or generate an audio alert through thedevice's speaker 111. If the user of the device unlocks the device'stouch screen 112 in response to the visual and/or audio alert, the usermay see user interface 600A (not user interface 400) on the touchscreen. FIGS. 23A-23L, discussed below, also illustrate exemplary UIsfor handling incoming instant messages.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the instant messages 604 from Jane Doe may bedisplayed on the left side of the message display region with the mostrecent message (e.g., 604-2) towards the bottom. The messages sent bythe user to Jane Doe are on the opposite side of the display region. Themessages' relative vertical locations correspond to the order in whichthese messages are exchanged between the user of the device and JaneDoe. Selected timestamps 608 further indicate when these messages areexchanged. In some embodiments, a timestamp is displayed near themessage it is associated with. If the message display region does nothave enough room to display the timestamp of every message currently inthe message display region, the device may display timestamps for asubset of the messages, e.g., a timestamp 608-1 corresponding to themessage 604-1 at the top of the message region and a timestamp 608-2corresponding to the message 606-2 at the bottom of the message region.In some embodiments, the device may display more timestamps for messagesin the middle if, e.g., the time gap between the two messages is above apredefined threshold. From the instant messages, the user can easilycapture the topic of the conversation. If necessary, the user can browsethe other old messages not currently on display by applying a scrollinggesture 610 on the message display region (1112). In response, theportable electronic device scrolls the set of message conversations(1124). In some embodiments, the scrolling gesture is independent of thehorizontal position of the user contact with the touch screen display.In some embodiments, the scrolling gesture is substantially independentof the horizontal position of the user contact with the touch screendisplay, as described above.

In some embodiments, the device highlights certain portions of incomingand outgoing messages using, e.g., underlines, distinct font sizes orstyles, and/or colors. Typically, the highlighted portions are deemed tohave special connotations such as phone numbers, URLs, stock tickers, orcontacts' names. These highlighted message portions may beuser-selectable. For example, a user finger gesture on the highlightedportion “apple.com” of the message 604-2 causes the activation of thebrowser 147, which then brings up the home page of the websitewww.apple.com. Similarly, a user finger gesture on a telephone numberactivates the phone 138 and initiates a call to the telephone number.

In some embodiments, a vertically downward scrolling gesture scrolls theconversation downward, thereby showing older messages in theconversation. In some embodiments, a vertically upward scrolling gesturescrolls the conversation upward, thereby showing newer, more recentmessages in the conversation. In some embodiments, as noted above, thelast message in the conversation (e.g., 606-2) is displayed in the listof instant message conversations 500 (e.g., 506-1).

In some embodiments, vertical bar 630 is displayed temporarily after anobject is detected on or near the touch screen display (e.g., a fingertouch is detected anywhere on the list of instant messages). In someembodiments, the vertical bar 630 has a vertical position on top of thedisplayed portion of the list that corresponds to the vertical positionin the list of the displayed portion of the list. In some embodiments,the vertical bar 630 has a vertical length that corresponds to theportion of the list being displayed. For example, in FIG. 6A, thevertical position of the vertical bar 630 indicates that the bottom ofthe list of messages is being displayed (which correspond to the mostrecent messages) and the vertical length of the vertical bar 630indicates that roughly half of the messages in the conversation arebeing displayed.

In response to the user's finger gestures on different letter keys inthe keyboard (1114), a new instant message is composed in the text box612. A more detailed description of this composition process is providedbelow in connection with FIG. 12. In some embodiments, the keyboard 616in FIG. 6A has only 26 English characters due to the touch screen'slimited size. To enter characters such as digits, punctuation and otherspecial symbols, the user needs to tap on the keyboard selector icon 618(1120) and/or the shift key icon 628 (1116) to bring in additionalkeyboards or switch the existing keyboard to a different display mode(e.g., from upper/lower case to lower/upper case). More detaileddescriptions of these processes are provided below in connection withFIGS. 13 and 14, respectively. After completing the new message, theuser taps on the send message icon 614 to transmit the message to theother participant of the conversation (1118). A more detaileddescription of the sending process is provided below in connection withFIG. 15.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying auser-entered character and word suggestions, if any, in accordance withsome embodiments. Upon detecting a user selection of a letter key(1202), the portable electronic device displays the user-selected letterin the text box 612 (1204). To expedite the process of composing the newmessage, the portable electronic device may determine if it can offerany word suggestions based on the user input (1206). To do so, theportable electronic device may apply linguistics-based algorithms (e.g.,as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/549,624, titled“Method, System, and Graphical User Interface for Text Entry withPartial Word Display” filed Oct. 13, 2006, which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety) to the user input and display one or morerelated words from its database (1208).

As shown in FIG. 6B, user interface 600B (FIG. 6B) includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 602, 604, 606, 608, 612, 614, 616, 618, and 620        as described above; and    -   word suggestion area 622 that provides a list of possible words        to complete the word fragment being typed by the user in text        box 612.

In this example, based on the user-entered string “vacat”, the portableelectronic device displays three possible words, “vacant”, “vacate”, and“vacation”, in the area 622. The user can choose any of them by fingertapping on a respective word icon. Alternatively, the user can ignoreall the computer-suggested words by tapping on the icon that exactlymatches his input. In some embodiments, the portable electronic devicealso saves the user input as a new word in its database. Subsequently,when the user enters the same string or a subset thereof, the portableelectronic device may display this new word as one of the wordsuggestions. In some embodiments, the word suggestion area does notappear in UI 600B until after a predefined time delay (e.g., 2-3seconds) in text being entered by the user. In some embodiments, theword suggestion area is not used or can be turned off by the user. Insome embodiments, a suggested word (e.g., 644 FIG. 6H, discussed below)is displayed next to the user-entered string (e.g., just above or justbelow the string), rather than in a separate area 622.

If there is no suggestion by the portable electronic device or if theoption is turned off, the portable electronic device resumes monitoringthe user contact with the touch screen and acts accordingly (1210).

Additional description of providing word suggestions can be found inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/620,642, “Method, System, andGraphical User Interface for Providing Word Recommendations,” filed Jan.5, 2007, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference in itsentirety.

As noted above, the keyboard 616 may not include all the characters theuser would like to enter. There are different approaches to bringing inadditional characters. For example, as shown in FIG. 6B, the user cantap on the keyboard selector icon 618 to replace the current letterkeyboard 616 with a new keyboard that includes a different set ofcharacters such as digits and/or punctuation.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying respectivekeyboards upon detecting a user contact with a keyboard selection iconin accordance with some embodiments. In response to a user selection ofthe keyboard selector 618 (1302), the portable electronic device checkswhat type of keyboard is requested (1304). Depending on the type of therequested keyboard, the portable electronic device displays a letterkeyboard (1308) or non-letter keyboard (1306). In some embodiments, themeaning of the user contact with the keyboard selector icon 618 dependson the keyboard's current display mode. Following the display of therequested keyboard, the portable electronic device then resumesmonitoring the user contact with the touch screen (1310).

As shown in FIG. 6C, after a user finger gesture on the keyboardselector icon 618 in FIG. 6B, a new user interface 600C is rendered onthe touch screen with the following elements, or a subset or supersetthereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 602, 604, 606, 608, 612, 614, 620, and 622 as        described above;    -   Alternate keyboard 624, which may be made up primarily of digits        and punctuation, with frequently used punctuation keys (e.g.,        period key 631, comma key 633, question mark key 635, and        exclamation point key 637) made larger than the other keys;    -   Letter keyboard selector icon 626 that when activated (e.g., by        a finger gesture on the icon) initiates the display of a letter        keyboard (e.g., 616, FIG. 6A); and    -   Shift key 628 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture on        the icon) initiates display of yet another keyboard (e.g., 639,        FIG. 6D).

Note that the non-letter keyboard selector 618 in FIG. 6B is nowreplaced with the letter keyboard selector 626 in FIG. 6C. In someembodiments, the period key 631 and the comma key 633 are located nearthe keyboard selector icon 626 to reduce the distance that a user'sfinger needs to travel to enter the oft-used period and comma.

But the alternate keyboard 624 may not be all-inclusive. For example, itmay not have any arithmetic operators such as “+”, “−”, “*”, or “/”. Afinger gesture on the keyboard selector 626 brings back the letterkeyboard 616, not any new keyboards. In some embodiments, the user maytap on another multi-function key, e.g., the shift key 628, to bring inadditional keyboards.

In some embodiments, like the keyboard selector icons (618, 626), theshift key 628 has different meanings in different contexts. FIG. 14 is aflowchart illustrating a process for interpreting the meaning of aparticular user contact with the shift key 628 in accordance with someembodiments. The portable electronic device detects user selection ofthe shift key (1402). The portable electronic device checks whatkeyboard is currently displayed on the touch screen (1404). If thecurrent one is a letter keyboard, a finger gesture on the shift keytriggers the portable electronic device to switch its display mode ofthe subsequent user-entered letters from uppercase to lowercase or viceversa (1406).

Referring back to FIG. 6B, in some embodiments, the portable electronicdevice, by default, only displays the first letter “h” of the first word“how” in uppercase. If the user wants to enter another uppercase letterin the same sentence, he can tap on the shift key 628. As a result, theshift key 628 is displayed in a visually different manner (e.g., with adifferent color or shading) after the finger gesture. In someembodiments, the shift key 628 returns to the lowercase mode after theuser enters the next letter in uppercase. If the user wants to enter asequence of uppercase letters, he can maintain the finger contact withthe shift key 628 for a predefined extended period of time (e.g., 1-3seconds) until the shift key 628 has a new appearance. In some otherembodiments, the shift key 628 stays in the uppercase mode for allsubsequent user-entered letters until another finger gesture is detectedon the shift key 628.

Returning now to FIG. 14, the user contact with the shift key 628 has adifferent meaning if the current keyboard is a non-letter keyboard(e.g., the alternate keyboard 624 in FIG. 6C). Because none of thecharacters in the keyboard 624 have two different display modes, theportable electronic device replaces the keyboard 624 with anothernon-letter keyboard 639 (1408) and then waits for the next user contactwith the touch screen (1410).

FIG. 6D is a screenshot of the corresponding user interface 600D, whichincludes the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 602, 604, 606, 608, 612, 614, 620, 622, 626, 628        as described above; and    -   Another alternate keyboard 639, which may be made up primarily        of symbols and punctuation, with frequently used punctuation        keys (e.g., period key 631, comma key 633, question mark key        635, and exclamation point key 637) made larger than the other        keys.

Like the keyboard 624, none of the characters in the keyboard 639 havetwo different display modes. In some embodiments, the user can tap againon the shift key 628 to bring in more alternate keyboards with morespecial characters or symbols. In some embodiments, the user can tapagain on the shift key 628 to return to the alternate keyboard 624. Atany time, the user can also switch back to the letter keyboard bytapping on the keyboard selection icon 626.

Additional description of selecting soft keyboards can be found in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/553,431, “Method, System, and GraphicalUser Interface for Selecting a Soft Keyboard,” filed Oct. 26, 2006, thecontent of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

After completing a new message, the user sends the message by activating(e.g., with a finger gesture) the send message icon 614. FIG. 6E depictssuch a user interface 600E that includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 602, 604, 606, 608, 612, 614, 616, 618, and 620,        as described above; and    -   New instant message 606-3 sent to the other party.

In some embodiments, this user finger gesture triggers an animation ofthe new message moving from the text box 612 to the side of the messagedisplay region showing messages sent by the user of the device. Forexample, when the user activates a send key (e.g., either 614), the textin text box 612 “pops” or otherwise comes out of the box and becomespart of the string of user messages 606 to the other party. The blackarrows in FIG. 6E illustrate an animated formation of a quote bubble606-3. In some embodiments, the size of the quote bubble scales with thesize of the message. In some embodiments, a sound is also made when themessage is sent, such as a droplet sound, to notify the user.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process for sending an instantmessage to a respective recipient in accordance with some embodiments.In response to a user selection of the send message icon (1502), theportable electronic device checks if there is any user input in the textbox (1504). If not, it may simply ignore the user's finger gesture onthe send icon or display an error message on the touch screen (1508). Insome embodiments, the visual appearance of the send icon 614 is changed(e.g., dimmed) if there is no user input in the text box.

If there is any user input in the text box (1504, yes), the portableelectronic device may optionally conduct a spell check of the user input(1506). If there are any spelling errors (1506, yes), an error messageand/or word suggestions are displayed on the touch screen for the userto choose (1512). If there are no spelling errors, the portableelectronic device sends the message and may also animate the movement ofthe new message from the text box into the message display region(1514). The portable electronic device then monitors the user contactwith the touch screen (1516).

In some embodiments, keys in keyboards 616 (FIGS. 6A, 6B, 6E-6K), 624(FIG. 6C), and/or 639 (FIG. 6D) briefly change shape, shade and/or colorwhen touched/activated by a user to help the user learn to activate thedesired keys. In some embodiments, a user selection of any key on thetouch screen by a finger gesture is accompanied by a sound for the samepurpose. In some other embodiments, different sounds are associated withdifferent types of keystrokes to indicate what keys have been “pressed”by the user. In some embodiments, an outline or shaded areacorresponding to the user's finger contact is shown on the keyboard tohelp train the user.

In some embodiments, a user can delete an instant message from aconversation by finger tapping on the corresponding quote bubble in themessage display region. The portable electronic device, in response,grays out the bubble and pops up a small window on the touch screen. Thesmall window may include a “Yes” icon and a “No” icon. If the userre-affirms his decision of deleting the message by finger tapping on the“Yes” icon, the portable electronic device removes the bubble from themessage display region. But if the user chooses the “No” icon, the quotebubble resumes its normal appearance.

In some embodiments, user interface 600F (FIG. 6F) includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, and 628, as described        above;    -   Recipient input field 632 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        tap on the field) receives and displays the phone number of the        recipient of the instant message (or the recipient's name if the        recipient is already in the user's contact list);    -   Add recipient icon 634 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        tap on the icon) initiates the display of a scrollable list of        contacts (e.g., 638, FIG. 6G); and    -   Cancel icon 636 that when activated (e.g., by a finger tap on        the icon) cancels the new instant message.

In some embodiments, user interface 600G (FIG. 6G) includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 628, 632, 634, and 636,        as described above;    -   Scrollable list 638 of contacts that match the input in        recipient input field 632; and    -   Vertical bar 640 that helps a user understand how many items in        the contact list that match the input in recipient input field        632 are being displayed.

In some embodiments, list 638 contains contacts that match the input inrecipient input field 632. For example, if the letter “v” is input, thencontacts with either a first name or last name beginning with “v” areshown. If the letters “va” are input in field 632, then the list ofcontacts is narrowed to contacts with either a first name or last namebeginning with “va”, and so on until one of the displayed contacts isselected (e.g., by a tap on a contact in the list 638).

In some embodiments, a user can scroll through the list 638 by applyinga vertical swipe gesture 642 to the area displaying the list 638. Insome embodiments, a vertically downward gesture scrolls the listdownward and a vertically upward gesture scrolls the list upward,

In some embodiments, vertical bar 640 is displayed temporarily after anobject is detected on or near the touch screen display (e.g., a fingertouch is detected anywhere on the list 638). In some embodiments, thevertical bar 640 has a vertical position on top of the displayed portionof the list that corresponds to the vertical position in the list of thedisplayed portion of the list. In some embodiments, the vertical bar 640has a vertical length that corresponds to the portion of the list beingdisplayed.

In some embodiments, user interfaces 600H (FIG. 6H) and 6001 (FIG. 6I)include the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 628, 632, 634, and 636,        as described above;    -   Suggested word 644 adjacent to the word being input;    -   Suggested word 646 in the space bar in keyboard 616; and/or    -   Insertion marker 656 (e.g., a cursor, insertion bar, insertion        point, or pointer).

In some embodiments, activating suggested word 644 (e.g., by a fingertap on the suggested word) replaces the word being typed with thesuggested word 644. In some embodiments, activating suggested word 646(e.g., by a finger tap on the space bar) replaces the word being typedwith the suggested word 646. In some embodiments, a user can set whethersuggested words 644 and/or 646 are shown (e.g., by setting a userpreference).

In some embodiments, a letter is enlarged briefly after it is selected(e.g., “N” is enlarged briefly after typing “din” in FIG. 6H) to providefeedback to the user.

In some embodiments, user interfaces 600J (FIG. 6J) and 600K (FIG. 6K)include the following elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 628, 632, 634, 636, and        656 as described above; and    -   Expanded portion 650 of graphics that helps a user adjust the        position of an expanded insertion marker 657 (sometimes called        an “insertion point magnifier”);    -   Expanded insertion marker 657; and    -   Vertical bar 658 that indicates what portion of an instant        message including multiple lines of text is being displayed.

In some embodiments, a finger contact 648-1 on or near the insertionmarker 656 initiates the display of insertion point magnifier 650 andexpanded insertion marker 657-1. In some embodiments, as the fingercontact is moved on the touch screen (e.g., to position 648-2), there iscorresponding motion of the expanded insertion marker (e.g., to 657-2)and the insertion point magnifier 650. Thus, the insertion pointmagnifier 650 provides an efficient way to position a cursor or otherinsertion marker using finger input on the touch screen. In someembodiments, the magnifier 650 remains visible and can be repositionedas long as continuous contact is maintained with the touch screen (e.g.,from 648-1 to 648-2 to even 648-3).

In some embodiments, a portable electronic device displays graphics andan insertion marker (e.g., marker 656, FIG. 6I) at a first location inthe graphics on a touch screen display (e.g., FIG. 6I). In someembodiments, the insertion marker 656 is a cursor, insertion bar,insertion point, or pointer. In some embodiments, the graphics comprisetext (e.g., text in box 612, FIG. 6I).

A finger contact is detected with the touch screen display (e.g.,contact 648-1, FIG. 6I). In some embodiments, the location of the fingercontact is proximate to the location of the insertion marker. In someembodiments, the location of the finger contact is anywhere within atext entry area (e.g., box 612, FIG. 6I).

In response to the detected finger contact, the insertion marker isexpanded from a first size (e.g., marker 656, FIG. 6I) to a second size(e.g., marker 657-1, FIG. 6J) on the touch screen display, and a portion(e.g., portion 650-1, FIG. 6J) of the graphics on the touch screendisplay is expanded from an original size to an expanded size.

In some embodiments, the portion of the graphics that is expandedincludes the insertion marker and adjacent graphics. In someembodiments, after the insertion point and the portion of the graphicsare expanded, graphics are displayed that include the insertion markerand adjacent graphics at the original size and at the expanded size.

Movement of the finger contact is detected on the touch screen display(e.g., from 648-1 to 648-2, FIG. 6J).

The expanded insertion marker is moved in accordance with the detectedmovement of the finger contact from the first location (e.g., 657-1,FIG. 6J) to a second location in the graphics (e.g., 657-2, FIG. 6J).

In some embodiments, the portion of the graphics that is expandedchanges as the insertion marker moves from the first location to thesecond location (e.g., from 650-1 to 650-2, FIG. 6J). In someembodiments, the portion of the graphics that is expanded is displayedin a predefined shape. In some embodiments the portion (e.g., 650, FIG.6J) of the graphics that is expanded is displayed in a circle. In someembodiments, the expanded insertion marker 657 is within the circle.

In some embodiments, the detected movement of the finger contact has ahorizontal component on the touch screen display and a verticalcomponent on the touch screen display. In some embodiments, moving theexpanded insertion marker 657 in accordance with the detected movementof the finger contact includes moving the expanded insertion marker andthe expanded portion of the graphics in accordance with the horizontalcomponent of motion of the finger contact if the finger contact movesoutside a text entry area without breaking contact. For example, in FIG.6I, if the finger contact moves from 648-2 (inside the text entry area612) to 648-3 (in the keyboard area), the expanded insertion point 657and the expanded portion 650 of the graphics may move horizontally alongthe lower portion of the text entry area in accordance with thehorizontal component of the movement from 648-2 to 648-3 (not shown).

In some embodiments, moving the expanded insertion marker in accordancewith the detected movement of the finger contact includes moving theexpanded insertion marker in a first area of the touch screen thatincludes characters entered using a soft keyboard (e.g., text box 612,FIG. 6J), wherein the soft keyboard is located in a second area of thetouch screen that is separate from the first area (e.g., keyboard 616,FIG. 6J).

In some embodiments, the expanded insertion marker is contracted fromthe second size to the first size if finger contact with the touchscreen display is broken (e.g., insertion marker 656, FIG. 6K). In someembodiments, the contracting includes an animation of the expandedinsertion marker 657 shrinking into the insertion marker 656 at thesecond location.

In some embodiments, the expanded portion 650 of the graphics iscontracted if finger contact with the touch screen display is no longerdetected for a predetermined time.

A graphical user interface on a portable electronic device with a touchscreen display comprises an insertion marker and graphics. In responseto detecting a finger contact 648 with the touch screen display, theinsertion marker is expanded from a first size 656 to a second size 657,and a portion 650 of the graphics is expanded. In response to detectingmovement of the finger contact on the touch screen display, the expandedinsertion marker is moved in accordance with the detected movement ofthe finger contact from a first location 657-1 in the graphics to asecond location 657-2 in the graphics.

As noted above in connection with FIG. 6E, a user finger selection ofthe send key 614 triggers an animation of the message moving from thetext box 612 to the message display region. In some embodiments, priorto sending the message, the size of the text box expands as text isentered (e.g., from one line of text in FIG. 6H to two lines of text inFIG. 6I). In some embodiments, the text box 612 does not have enoughroom for displaying the entire message if it has too many lines of text(as indicated by the short vertical bar 658). When a quote bubblecontaining the multi-line message comes out of the text box 612, it maygradually grow its size until a predefined condition is met (e.g., thebubble has enough room to contain the entire message and/or the size ofthe bubble reaches a threshold that is statically or dynamicallydetermined by the device based on the number of existing messages in theconversation). For example, if the text box shows 3 lines of a 10 lineinstant message, then the quote bubble may grow from a 3 line quotebubble to a 10 line quote bubble during the animation that moves themessage from the text box 612 to the message display region.

Additional description of insertion marker positioning can be found inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/553,436, “Method, System, AndGraphical User Interface For Positioning An Insertion Marker In A TouchScreen Display,” filed Oct. 26, 2006, the content of which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

Besides deleting individual messages from a conversation, an entireconversation may be deleted via edit icon 512 in FIG. 5. FIG. 7illustrates an exemplary user interface for deleting an instant messageconversation in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,user interface 700 includes the following elements, or a subset orsuperset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 504, 506, 508, 510, as described above;    -   Delete icons 702;    -   Remove icon 704; and    -   Done icon 706.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying a list ofinstant message conversations for editing in accordance with someembodiments. Upon detecting a user selection of the edit icon 512(1602), the portable electronic device associates a delete icon 702 witheach conversation (1604) (e.g., a delete icon 702 appears next to eachconversation). Additionally, the portable electronic device may replacethe edit icon 512 with a done icon 706 (1606) and monitor user contactwith the touch screen (1608).

If the user swipes his finger or stylus on the touch screen in asubstantially vertical direction (1610), the portable electronic devicescrolls the conversation list (1616). If a user activates a delete icon(e.g., with a finger gesture), the portable electronic device continuesthe deletion process for the corresponding conversation. A more detaileddescription of an exemplary conversation removal process is providedbelow in connection with FIGS. 17 and 18. But if the user touches thedone icon, the portable electronic device removes all the delete icons702 from the touch screen and brings back the conversation list UI asshown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating a process for editing a userselected instant message conversation in accordance with someembodiments. Upon detecting a user selection of the delete iconassociated with a conversation (1702), the portable electronic devicechanges the delete icon's appearance (e.g., rotating the selected deleteicon 702-4, FIG. 7, by 90 degrees) (1704). The portable electronicdevice associates a confirmation icon (e.g., remove icon 704) with theselected conversation (1706). In some embodiments, during the editingprocess, at most one confirmation icon at a time is displayed on thetouch screen. Depending on the next user contact with the touch screen(1708), the portable electronic device may perform different operationsto the conversation list. For example, the device may scroll the listup/down in response to a scrolling gesture by the user (1710, 1718). Thedevice may bring back the conversation list UI in response to a fingergesture on the done icon (1714).

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a process for removing a userselected instant message conversation or exiting a conversation editmode in accordance with some embodiments. If the user selects theconfirmation icon (1712, 1802), the portable electronic device removesthe conversation from the touch screen (1804). If the removedconversation is not the last one in the list, the portable electronicdevice may shift other conversations upward to fill the space left bythe removed conversation (1806). A finger gesture on the modified deleteicon 702-4 or, in some embodiments, anywhere on the touch screen besidesthe confirmation icon 704 (1716, 1803) indicates that the user decidesnot to delete the conversation. Accordingly, the portable electronicdevice changes the delete icon back to its original appearance (1805)and removes the confirmation icon from the touch screen (1807).

Following the operation 1806 or 1807, the portable electronic deviceresumes monitoring the user contact with the touch screen (1808). Forexample, the user may activate the done icon 706 (1814) by tapping on itwith a finger when the user has finished deleting IM conversations andthe device returns to UI 500. The user may delete another conversationby activating its associated delete icon (1812). If there is a long listof conversations that fill more than the screen area, the user mayscroll through the list using vertically upward and/or verticallydownward gestures 708 on the touch screen (1810, 1816).

This conversation removal process, which requires multiple gestures bythe user on different parts of the touch screen (e.g., delete icon 702-4and confirmation icon 704 are on opposite sides of the touch screen) canreduce the chance that a user accidentally deletes a conversation orother similar item.

Referring again to FIG. 5, a user may start a new conversation withanother person by activating the message creation icon 514 (e.g., with afinger tap or other gesture). FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating aprocess for displaying a list of contacts from which a user chooses tosend an instant message in accordance with some embodiments. Afterdetecting the user selection of the message creation icon 514 (FIG. 5),and, in some embodiments, add icon 634 (FIG. 6F) (1902), the portableelectronic device identifies a set of contacts from the user's addressbook or the equivalent because it does not know to whom this newconversation is directed (1904). Next, the portable electronic devicedisplays the identified contacts on the touch screen (1908). In someembodiments, the portable electronic device displays multiple icons onthe touch screen in addition to the contact list (1909), such as thegroup contacts icon, the first name and last name icons, the alphabetlist icons, the cancel icon, and the other number icon. A more detaileddescription of these icons is provided below in connection with FIGS. 8Aand 8B. After rendering the contact list and the additional icons, theportable electronic device then monitors the user contact with the touchscreen (1910).

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate an exemplary user interface for a contactlist in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, userinterfaces 800A and 800B include the following elements, or a subset orsuperset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, as described above;    -   Groups icon 802 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture        on the icon) initiates display of groups of contacts;    -   First name icon 804 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates an alphabetical display of the        user's contacts by their first names (FIG. 8B);    -   Last name icon 806 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates an alphabetical display of the        user's contacts by their last names (FIG. 8A);    -   Alphabet list icons 808 that the user can touch to quickly        arrive at a particular first letter in the displayed contact        list;    -   Cancel icon 810 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture        on the icon) initiates transfer back to the previous UI (e.g.,        UI 500); and    -   Other number icon 812 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates transfer to a UI for entering a        phone number for instant messaging, such as a phone number that        is not in the user's contact list (e.g., UI 900, FIG. 9).

As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/322,547, “ScrollingList With Floating Adjacent Index Symbols,” filed Dec. 23, 2005, whichis hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, the user may scrollthrough the contact list using vertically upward and/or verticallydownward gestures 814 on the touch screen.

If the next user contact is such a scrolling gesture 814 (1912) or afinger gesture on one of the first name icon 804, the second name icon806 and the alphabet list icons 808 (1914), the portable electronicdevice modifies the contacts currently on display (1920). Although thecontact list may be shared by multiple applications on the same portabledevice (e.g., email, phone, and instant messaging), a user selection ofa name in the contact list in this context will be used for IM servicebecause the contact list was requested from within the IM application.Here the contact list is being shown in connection with user activationof the message creation icon 514 in the IM application 141.

If the portable electronic device detects a finger gesture on oneperson's name or other identifier in the contact list (1916), theportable electronic device displays a message compose region for amessage to the selected contact (1108, FIG. 11) and displays aconversation UI as shown in FIG. 6A. In some embodiments, if there is anexisting conversation between the user and the selected person, theportable electronic device merges the new conversation into the existingone by displaying messages associated with the existing conversation.

If the portable electronic device detects a user gesture on the cancelicon 810 (1918), the portable electronic device aborts the process ofcreating the new conversation and brings back the conversation listshown in FIG. 5 (1006, FIG. 10).

In some embodiments, if the portable electronic device detects a fingergesture on the other number icon 812 (1919), typically a newconversation with a person not in the contact list is initiated.Accordingly, the portable electronic device may render a new userinterface for the user to enter the person's contact information that isgoing to be used by the new conversation.

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a process for launching a newconversation using a new phone number in accordance with someembodiments. Upon detecting user selection of the other number icon(2002), the portable electronic device provides a contact informationdisplay region (2004) and a contact information compose region (2006) onthe touch screen. The contact information may be a phone number or anemail address for IM service. The contact information display regionincludes a text box 906 for displaying the user-entered contactinformation. The contact information compose region includes a keyboard624 for the user to enter such contact information. If the useractivates the cancel icon (2012), the portable electronic device abortsthe process of creating a new conversation and returns to theconversation list UI shown in FIG. 5. If the user input is a letter ornumber (2010), the portable electronic device displays it in the textbox (2014).

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary user interface for entering a phonenumber for instant messaging in accordance with some embodiments. Insome embodiments, user interface 900 includes the following elements, ora subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 602, and 624, as described above;    -   Cancel icon 902 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture        on the icon) initiates transfer back to the previous UI (e.g.,        UI 800A or UI 800B);    -   Save icon 904 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture on        the icon) initiates saving the entered phone number in the        instant messages conversation list (e.g., UI 500) and displaying        a UI to compose an instant message to be sent to the entered        phone number (e.g., UI 600A); and    -   Number entry box 906 for entering the phone number using        keyboard 624.

Note that the keyboard displayed may depend on the application context.For example, the UI displays a soft keyboard with numbers (e.g., 624)when numeric input is needed or expected. The UI displays a softkeyboard with letters (e.g., 616) when letter input is needed orexpected.

FIGS. 22A-22Q illustrate exemplary user interfaces for creating andsending telephony-based instant messages to multiple recipients and forreceiving and responding to replies to such messages in accordance withsome embodiments. The user interfaces in FIGS. 22A-22Q are described inmore detail below. In addition, the user interfaces in FIGS. 22A-22Q areused to illustrate the processes described below with reference to FIGS.24-29.

FIG. 22A illustrates an exemplary user interface 2200A for displayinginstant messaging conversations on a portable electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments. The UI 2200A in FIG. 22A shows a listof instant message conversations, with entries listing conversationswith two individuals (Tom and an unknown person with phone number310-123-4567). The IM conversations listed in FIG. 22A do not includeany group conversations. In some embodiments, UI 2200A includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset, thereof:

-   -   402, 404, and 406, as described above;    -   “Instant Messages” or “Text Messages” or other similar label        2202;    -   Names 2204 of the persons with whom the user has instant message        conversations (e.g., Tom 2204-1); when the name of the other        party is not available, the displayed name may be the phone        number of the other party (e.g., 310-123-4567 2204-2);    -   Text 2206 of the last message or a portion thereof in the        conversation (note that the last message could be the last one        either sent or received by the user);    -   Date 2208 and/or time of the last message in the conversation;    -   Selection icon 2210 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates transition to a UI for the        corresponding conversation;    -   Edit icon 2212 that when activated (e.g., by a finger gesture on        the icon) initiates transition to a UI for deleting        conversations (e.g., UI 700, FIG. 7); and    -   Create message icon 2222 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        gesture on the icon) initiates transition to the users contact        list (e.g., FIG. 8A).

FIGS. 22B-22D illustrate exemplary user interfaces for selectingmultiple recipients of an instant message in accordance with someembodiments. These Figures illustrate using finger gestures to addressan instant message to multiple recipients (e.g., to Mike Van Os, Tom,and Allen Cook) using a method similar to that described above withrespect to FIGS. 6G and 6H. In particular, finger gesture 2231 in UI2200B, FIG. 22B, selects Mike Van Os as a message recipient; fingergesture 2248, FIG. 22C in UI 2200C, selects Tom as another messagerecipient; and finger gesture 2250 in UI 2200D, FIG. 22D, selects AllenCook as yet another message recipient.

In some embodiments, user interface 2200B (FIG. 22B) includes thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset, thereof:

-   -   402, 404, and 406 as described above;    -   Recipient input field 2232 that when activated (e.g., by a        finger tap on the field) receives and displays the phone number        of the recipient(s) of the instant message (or the recipient's        name if the recipient is already in the user's contact list);    -   Add recipient icon 2234 that when activated (e.g., by a finger        tap on the icon) initiates the display of a scrollable list of        contacts (e.g., 2239, FIG. 22B);    -   Scrollable list 2239 of contacts (e.g., where a vertical swipe        gesture 2242 upwards to scroll the list up, and downward to        scroll the list down);    -   Text box 2212 that when activated (e.g., by a finger tap on the        field) displays a message compose region (FIG. 6H).    -   Vertical bar 2240 that helps a user understand how many items in        the contact list that match the input in recipient input field        2232 are being displayed in the scrollable list 2239; and    -   Cancel icon 2236 that when activated (e.g., by a finger tap on        the icon) cancels the composing of a new instant message.

FIG. 22E illustrates an example of a user interface 2200E for composingan instant message to multiple recipients after user selection of therecipients in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 22E shows a firstmessage sent to Mike Van Os, Tom, and Allen Cook (e.g., “We'll meet atAMC at 8 PM.”).

User interface 2200E includes the following elements, or a subset orsuperset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406 as described above;    -   “Outgoing” or other similar label 2258 indicating that the        message is being sent from the device to others;    -   Multi-recipient identifier 2261 identifying all recipients of        the instant message;    -   Details icon 2262 that when activated allows the user to access        detailed contact information of a corresponding recipient;    -   Instant messages icon 2254 that when activated transitions to a        UI showing a list of instant messaging conversations (e.g. FIG.        22F);    -   Group conversation indicia 2256 which indicates that the message        is a part of a group conversation;    -   Clear icon 2260 that when activated (e.g. by a finger gesture on        the icon) clears the message entry text box;    -   a text box 2212 that when activated (e.g., by a finger tap on        the field) displays a message compose region (e.g. FIG. 6H);    -   the most recent outgoing message 2264; and    -   a send icon 2214 that when activated, sends the message to the        selected recipients.

FIG. 22F illustrates an example of a user interface 2200F for displayinga list of instant messaging conversations including a group conversationand a response to an instant message in accordance with someembodiments. In particular, FIG. 22F shows the list of instant messageconversations after the first message has been sent and after one of therecipients (Tom) has replied. The most recent entry in the instantmessage conversation between the user and Tom is now “I will bring afriend with me,” rather than “Hola.”

In some embodiments, user interface 2200F includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 2212, 2222 as described above;    -   an unread message indicia 2206 that indicates messages that have        not been read;    -   group conversation indicia 2266 that indicates the conversation        (next to which the indicia 2266 is displayed) is a group        conversation; and    -   a time indicator 2269 that indicates the time at which a last        message of the group conversation was sent.

FIG. 22G-H illustrates examples of user interfaces for displaying a setof outgoing messages between the user and one or more parties and forcomposing a message to one or more parties in accordance with someembodiments. FIG. 22G shows, in a user interface 220G, the instantmessage conversation between the user and Tom after Tom has replied tothe first instant message of a group conversation with Mike Van Os, Tom,and Allen Cook. The messages appear in chronological order, with themost recent message (“I will bring a friend with me”) closest to thetext input box. FIG. 22H shows, in a user interface 2200H, a secondinstant message 2272 being composed by the user. In this example, themessage “BTW, the new AMC in Cupertino” will be sent to all the otherparties in the group conversation, Mike Van Os, Tom, and Allen Cook,when the user activates the Send icon 2214.

In some embodiments, user interface 2200G includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 2212 and 2214 as described above; and    -   a set of messages 2264 between the user and a recipient(s).

In some embodiments, user interface 2200H includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 2214, 2254, 2256, 2258, 2260 as described above;    -   a details icon 2262 that when activated (e.g. by finger tap        gesture on the icon) replaces a multi-recipient identifier 2261        with a set of contact icons (e.g., 2285 FIG. 22N), each contact        icon representing one of the multiple recipients.    -   a multi-recipient identifier 2261 that shows all recipients of        the outgoing message;    -   a new outgoing message 2272 to the other parties (recipients) in        the group conversation; and    -   a set of messages 2264 between the user and a recipient(s).

FIG. 22I-22K illustrate examples of user interfaces for displaying anerror message after experiencing a problem sending a message to one ormore of the recipients in accordance with some embodiments. FIGS. 22Iand 22J illustrate an example of an error message that is displayed, ifthere is a problem sending the message to one or more of the recipients,while the user is using an instant messaging application. FIG. 22Killustrates an example of an error message that is displayed, if thereis a problem sending the message to one or more of the recipients, whilethe user is using a non-instant messaging application.

In some embodiments, user interfaces 22001 (FIG. 22I) and 2200J (FIG.22J) may include the following elements, or a subset or supersetthereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 2212, 2214, 2254, 2256, 2258, 2260, 2261, and        2262 as described above;    -   Label indicating error and error message 2276 indicating a        communication error in connection with sending the new outgoing        message;    -   a cancel icon 2278 that when activated (e.g., by a finger tap        gesture) cancels or postpones the sending of the message;    -   a try again icon 2280 that when activated (e.g., by a finger tap        gesture) resends the message to at least one of the multiple        recipients; and    -   the outgoing message 2272 is displayed with an appearance        distinct from the other outgoing messages, if any, in the        conversation.

In some embodiments, user interface 2200K (FIG. 22K) may include thefollowing elements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   2276, 2278, 2280 as described above.

FIG. 22L illustrates an example of a user interface 2000L for replyingto an instant message and for displaying a list of instant messages in agroup conversation in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 22L showsthe “group conversation” with Mike Van Os, Tom, and Allen Cook after thesecond instant message has been sent to the group. In some embodiments,a “group conversation” includes only outbound telephony-based instantmessages from the user to a group selected by the user. Thus, “groupconversations” are actually a collection of one-way outbound messagesand not two-way exchanges amongst the group for telephony-based instantmessages.

In some embodiments, user interface 2200L may include the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 2212, 2214, 2254, 2256, 2258, 2260, 2261 and 2262        as described above;    -   the group conversation including the first 2264 and second        instant message 2272 sent to the group.

FIG. 22M illustrates an example of a user interface 2200M for accessingdetailed information on recipients of the group conversation whilecomposing a message to the group. FIG. 22M shows how the user can accessdetails on the members of the group conversation.

In some embodiments, UI 2200M includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   one or more contact icons 2285 that when activated displays        contact information of a corresponding recipient in the multiple        recipients; and    -   a Hide icon 2286 that when activated will replace the set of        contact icons with a multi-recipient identifier (e.g., 2261 FIG.        22L).

FIG. 22N illustrates an example of a user interface 2200N for displayingdetailed information of a user selected contact, such as a user selectedmember of a group conversation. The user of the device may navigate touser interface 2200N of FIG. 22N by performing a finger gesture 2274(FIG. 22M) on a contact icon 2285 in a group conversation user interface(e.g., UI 2300M, FIG. 22M).

In some embodiments, UI 2200N includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   Graphic representing the contact;    -   Name of the contact; and    -   Phone numbers associated with the contact

FIGS. 22O and 22P illustrate examples of user interfaces for displayinginstant messaging conversations on a portable electronic device inaccordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, UI 2200O and UI2200P include elements already discussed with respect to user interface2200A (FIG. 22A) and UI 2200F (FIG. 22F). In particular, FIG. 22O showsthe list of instant message conversations after a second message (“BTW,the new AMC in Cupertino”) has been sent to a group of recipients andbefore any of the recipients have replied. The group conversation withthe most recent message has been moved to the top of the user's list ofinstant message conversations.

As shown here, in some embodiments, in the list of instant messagesconversations outbound messages to a group only appear in thecorresponding group conversations. Such messages do not appear as themost recent message in the corresponding individual conversations in thelist of instant message conversations. For example, in FIG. 22O, “BTW,the new AMC in Cupertino” appears with the group conversation, but notwith the individual conversation with Tom.

FIG. 22P shows an example of a list of instant message conversationsafter the second message has been sent and after Mike Van Os has repliedto the second message. In this example, Mike Van Os did not have apre-existing instant messaging conversation with the user, so a newindividual conversation has been started with Mike Van Os. Replies tooutbound messages in a group conversation are either added to existingindividual instant messaging conversations (e.g., a conversation withTom) or used to initiate new individual instant messaging conversations(e.g., a new conversation with Mike Van Os). In some embodiments,replies are not incorporated into the group conversation, which onlycontains outbound messages.

FIG. 22Q illustrates an example of a user interface 2200Q for displayinga set of outgoing messages between the user and one or more parties andfor composing a message to one or more parties in accordance with someembodiments. FIG. 22Q shows an example of a user interface displayingthe new instant messaging conversation between the user and Mike Van Osafter Mike Van Os has replied to the second instant message in the groupconversation. As shown here, in some embodiments, the conversationincludes the outbound messages that were sent to Mike Van Os as part ofthe group conversation, as well as the reply(s) by Mike Van Os.

In some embodiments, UI 2200Q includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   402, 404, 406, 2212, 2214, and 2254 as described above; and    -   a set of messages 2264, 2272, 2283 between the user and a        recipient including any messages (e.g., messages 2264, 2272)        that are part of a group conversation received by the recipient.

FIG. 24 is a flow diagram for illustrating an example of a process foradding multiple recipients to an instant message through finger gesturesin accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the deviceallows the user to compose and send a telephony-based instant message tomultiple recipients. An instant message conversation, in the followingcontext, includes a set of messages between a user of the portabledevice and other person(s) based on Short Messaging Service (SMS),Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS), Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), orother telephony-based communication protocol.

The multiple recipients in the group conversation are selected by aprocess 2400 in which:

-   -   in response to detecting a finger gesture on an add recipient        icon (e.g., 2234 FIG. 22B), the device displays (2402) a list of        contacts on the touch screen;    -   in response to detecting a finger swipe gesture (e.g., 2242,        FIG. 22B) on the contact list, the device scrolls (2404) the        list of contacts on the touch screen; and    -   in response to detecting a finger gesture (e.g., 2231 FIG. 22B,        2248 FIG. 22C, 2250 FIG. 22D) on a contact in the list of        contacts, the device adds the contact to the multiple        recipients, and generates a corresponding recipient icon (e.g.,        2246 FIG. 22C, 2252 FIG. 22D) in a message recipient field on        the touch screen display (2406).

The device repeats (2408) the process above until all of the multiplerecipients are selected.

In some embodiments, the list of contacts is narrowed to contactscorresponding to the letters inputted. For example, if the letter “v” isinputted, the list of contacts is narrowed to contacts having a namethat starts with a “v” (e.g., FIG. 22B). The narrowed list of contactsinclude, for example, first names or last names that begin with a “v,”(e.g., “Vivian” or “Mike Van Os”) or businesses or other entities storedin the contacts list that have a name that begins with a “v.” Similarly,as shown in FIG. 22C, if the user inputs a “t,” the list of contacts isnarrowed to contacts corresponding to “t,” which includes last names,first names, and other entities (e.g., “Typhoon”) that start with a “t.”

In some embodiments, multiple recipients in the message can be selectedby directly entering contact information through the soft keyboard. Inresponse to one or more finger gestures on one or more keyscorresponding to one or more letters on a soft keyboard displayed on thetouch screen display, the device displays the one or more letters in themessage recipient field on the touch screen display.

FIG. 25 is a flow diagram showing an exemplary method 2500 fordisplaying a list of instant messaging conversations including a groupconversation and for sending a new outgoing message to multiplerecipients in the group conversation in accordance with someembodiments. Method 2500 occurs at a portable electronic device with atouch screen display.

The device displays (2502) a list of instant messaging conversations(e.g., UI 2200F) including a group conversation (e.g., 2270 FIG. 22F).The group conversation includes a first multi-recipient identifier(e.g., 2268) and a group conversation indicia (e.g., 2266).

As previously discussed, in some embodiments incoming messages orresponses to the group conversation are not considered to be part of thegroup conversation, and hence are not designated with a groupconversation indicia (e.g., 2266). For example, Tom's message 2271 (FIG.22F) is a response to the user's group conversation 2270 (as shown inFIG. 22E, Tom was a recipient of the outgoing message.). Becauseresponses to the group conversation are not considered to be part of thegroup conversation, Tom's response 2271 is not accompanied by a groupconversation indicia (e.g., 2266).

In response to detecting a user selection of the group conversation(e.g., 2270 FIG. 22F), the device displays (2504) a set of outgoingmessages (e.g., 2264 FIG. 22H) from a user of the device to multiplerecipients in a chronological order and also displays a secondmulti-recipient identifier (e.g., 2261 FIG. 22H).

In some embodiments, the first multi-recipient identifier (e.g., 2268FIG. 22F) identifies a subset, but not all, of the multiple recipients,while the second multi-recipient identifier (e.g., 2261 FIG. 22H)identifies all of the multiple recipients. For example, the firstmulti-recipient identifier (e.g., 2268 FIG. 22F) may be an abbreviatedrepresentation (e.g., “Mike Van Os & others”) of the recipients. In someembodiments, if the identifiers of the message recipients in the secondmulti-recipient identifier field (e.g., 2261 FIG. 22E) are too longand/or numerous to be displayed in the display region that is used forlisting message recipients, a scroll bar may be displayed to allow theuser to scroll through a list of the message recipients, enabling theuser to view all of the message recipients.

The device receives (2506) a new outgoing message for the groupconversation entered by the user of the device through the touch screendisplay. In some embodiments, the new outgoing messages are shortmessaging service (SMS), multimedia messaging service (MMS), or enhancedmessaging service (EMS) messages.

In response to detecting a user request to send the new outgoing messageto the multiple recipients, the device sends (2508) the new outgoingmessage to the multiple recipients in the group conversation. Also inresponse to detecting a user request to send the new outgoing message tothe multiple recipients, the device appends (2508) the new outgoingmessage to the set of outgoing messages displayed on the touch screendisplay. For example, in FIG. 22H, after the user requests to send thenew outgoing message (e.g., user gesture on the “Send” icon 2214) thedevice sends the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients andappends the new outgoing message (e.g., 2272) to the set of outgoingmessages (2264, FIG. 22L), as shown in FIG. 22L.

In some embodiments, the appending of the new outgoing message to theset of the outgoing messages displayed on the touch screen occurs beforethe sending of the new outgoing message to multiple recipients. Thesetwo parts of operation 2508 are independent of each other and can happenin any order.

FIG. 26 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a process fordisplaying an error message indicating a communication error whensending the new outgoing message and for resending the message after anerror in accordance with some embodiments.

In some embodiments, the device displays (2602) an error message (e.g.,2276 FIG. 22I) indicating a communication error in connection withsending the new outgoing message to at least one of the multiplerecipients, displays (2602) a resend-message icon (e.g., 2280) on thetouch screen display, and resends the new outgoing message to the atleast one of the multiple recipients in response to a user selection(e.g., finger tap gesture) of the resend-message icon (e.g., 2280).

In some embodiments, the device displays (2604) the error message (e.g.,2276 FIG. 22I) and the resend-message icon (e.g., 2280) before appendingthe new outgoing message to the set of outgoing messages. For example,in FIG. 22I, the device displays an error message in connection withsending the new outgoing message, but has not yet appended the messageto the set of outgoing messages (e.g., 2264 FIG. 22I).

In some embodiments, the device displays (2606) the error message (e.g.,2276 FIG. 22J) and the resend-message icon (e.g., 2280) after appendingthe new outgoing message (e.g., 2272) to the set of outgoing messages(e.g., 2264).

In some embodiments, after appending the new outgoing message (e.g.,2272 FIG. 22L) to the set of outgoing messages (e.g., 2264), the devicedisplays (2608) the list of conversations (e.g., FIG. 22O) in responseto detecting a user request to return to the list of conversations(e.g., user gesture on the “Instant Messages” icon 2254, FIG. 22L).

After appending the new outgoing message (e.g., 2272 FIG. 22L) to theset of outgoing messages (e.g., 2264 FIG. 22L), the device also updates(2608) the display of the group conversation in the list ofconversations (e.g., UI 22000 FIG. 22O) by replacing apreviously-displayed outgoing message (e.g., 2270 FIG. 22F) associatedwith the group conversation with the new outgoing message (e.g., 2292FIG. 22O). For example, in FIG. 22O, the message “BTW, the new AMC inCupertino” now replaces the previously displayed outgoing message “We'llmeet at AMC at 8 pm.”

In some embodiments, the message with the error bears a differentappearance than other messages in the conversation (e.g. dotted lines,different colors). After successfully resending the message, theappearance of the message (e.g., 2272) will change to indicate success(e.g., removal of dotted lines) (FIG. 22L.) Additionally, in FIG. 22L,the text box 2212 is available for sending of more messages to the groupafter successfully resending the message.

FIG. 27 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a process fordisplaying an error message in connection with sending the new outgoingmessage to at least one of the multiple recipients when a non-messagingapplication is being used while sending the outgoing message inaccordance with some embodiments.

The group conversation and the new outgoing message are part of aninstant messaging application on the portable electronic device. Theportable electronic device includes a plurality of applications inaddition to the instant messaging application, and in this example oneor more of the plurality of additional applications are used whilesending the new outgoing message (2702). For example, the user mayswitch to a non-messaging application after sending a message.

The device displays (2704) on top of a non-messaging application anerror message (e.g., 2276 FIG. 22K) indicating a communication error inconnection with sending the new outgoing message to at least one of themultiple recipients and a resend-message icon (e.g., 2280) on the touchscreen display. For example, in FIG. 22K, the error message 2276 isdisplayed on top of a non-messaging application “Camera Roll.”

The device resends (2706) the new outgoing message to the at least oneof the multiple recipients in response to detecting a user selection ofthe resend-message icon (e.g., 2280).

After the device resends the new outgoing message (2706), the deviceceases (2708) to display the error message on top of the non-messagingapplication. In some embodiments, in response to user selection of theCancel icon (e.g., 2278), the device also ceases to display the errormessage on top of the non-messaging application.

FIG. 28 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a process forreplying to an existing conversation between the user of the device andthe recipient, and for generating a new conversation between the user ofthe device and the recipient of the message in accordance with someembodiments.

In some embodiments, the device receives (2802) a reply message from arecipient in the multiple recipients in response to the new outgoingmessage. In this example, there is an existing conversation between theuser of the device and the recipient, and the existing conversation islisted in the list of conversations. For example, in FIG. 22F, thedevice receives a reply message (e.g., 2271) from a recipient (Tom) inthe multiple recipients (e.g., in FIG. 22E, the recipients were Tom,Allen Cook, and Mike) in response to the new outgoing message (e.g.,2270). As shown in FIG. 22A, there is already an existing conversationbetween the user of the device and Tom.

In some embodiments, the device updates (2804) the existing conversationbetween the user of the device and the recipient by appending the replymessage to previous messages in the existing conversation between theuser of the device and the recipient. For example, in some embodiments,the device will update the existing conversation between Tom and theuser of the device by appending the user's reply message to previousmessages between the user and Tom.

In some embodiments, in response to detecting a user selection (e.g.,finger tap gesture) of the existing conversation between the user of thedevice and the recipient (e.g., the conversation with Tom, shown in FIG.22F), the device displays (2606) the reply message and the previousmessages in the existing conversation between the user of the device andthe recipient. For example, in response to user selection of Tom's replymessage 2271 in the user interface shown in FIG. 22F, the devicedisplays (FIG. 22G) Tom's reply message “I will bring a friend with me”and the previous messages, “We'll meet at AMC at 8 PM” and “Hola” in theexisting conversation between the user of the device and Tom.

In some embodiments, the previous messages in the existing conversationbetween the user of the device and the recipient includes each of theset of outgoing messages in the group conversation. For example, in UI2200G (FIG. 22G), the previous messages includes the outgoing messagesin the group conversation (e.g. “We'll meet at AMC at 8 pm”).

The previous messages in the existing conversation between the user ofthe device and the recipient include messages, if any, that are not inthe set of outgoing messages in the group conversation. For example, inUI 2200G (FIG. 22G), the previous messages include messages not in thegroup conversation (e.g., “Hola”).

The device may receive (2808) a reply message from a recipient in themultiple recipients in response to the new outgoing message, whereinthere is no existing conversation between the user of the device and therecipient in the list of conversations. For example, the user of thedevice may receive a message from Mike Van Os (e.g., 2294 FIG. 22Q). Aspreviously discussed, Mike Van Os is a recipient of the “BTW, the newAMC in Cupertino” message 2292 that is part of a group conversation (seeFIG. 22E). In this example, there is no existing conversation betweenthe user and Mike in the list of conversations (see FIG. 22A, FIG. 22F,and FIG. 22P).

In some embodiments, when the device receives a reply message from arecipient in the multiple recipients in response to the new outgoingmessage, wherein there is no existing conversation between the user ofthe device and the recipient in the list of conversations, the devicegenerates (2810) a new conversation between the user of the device andthe recipient that includes the reply message. In the example shown inFIG. 22P, since there is no existing conversation between Mike and theuser, the device generates a new conversation between the user and Mike,including Mike's reply message “Sorry that I can't come tonight . . . ”2294.

In some embodiments, in response to detecting a user selection of thenew conversation between the user of the device and the recipient (e.g.,2294 FIG. 22P), the device displays (2816) the reply message (e.g.,“Sorry that I can't come tonight . . . ” FIG. 22Q).

In some embodiments, generating the new conversation between the user ofthe device and the recipient further includes inserting (2812) into thenew conversation (between the user of the device and the recipient) eachof the set of outgoing messages in the group conversation. In someembodiments, generating the new conversation between the user of thedevice and the recipient also includes appending (2814) the replymessage from the recipient to the inserted set of outgoing messages inthe new conversation between the user of the device and the recipient.For example, in FIG. 22Q, the set of outgoing messages in the groupconversation (“We'll meet at AMC at 8 PM” 2264 and “BTW, the new AMC inCupertino” 2272) is inserted into the new conversation between the userand Mike. The reply message from Mike (“Sorry that I can't come tonight.Next time!” 2283) is also appended to the inserted set of outgoingmessages.

FIG. 29 is a flow diagram illustrating an example of a process forrevealing and hiding contact details in accordance with someembodiments. In response to detecting user selection (e.g., finger tapgesture) of the group conversation (e.g., 2290 FIG. 22P), the devicedisplays (2902) a details icon (e.g., 2262 FIG. 22L) adjacent to thesecond multi-recipient identifier 2261 (FIG. 22L).

In response to detecting user selection of the detail icon (e.g., 2262),the device replaces (2904) a multi-recipient identifier (e.g., “Mike VanOs, Tom, Allen Cook,” 2261 FIG. 22L) with a set of contact icons 2285(e.g., FIG. 22M), each contact icon representing one of the multiplerecipients. For example, in UI 2200M, Allen Cook, one of the multiplerecipients of the message, is represented by the contact icon 2285-2“Allen Cook.”

In some embodiments, one of the set of contact icons is a telephonenumber. For example, this may occur if the recipient is not on thedevice's contact list (not shown on drawings).

In response to detecting user selection of the details icon (e.g., 2262FIG. 22L), the device also replaces (2906) the details icon with a hidedetail icon (e.g., 2286 FIG. 22M).

In response to detecting user selection of one of the set of contacticons (e.g., 2285-2), the device displays (2908) contact information ofa corresponding recipient in the multiple recipients. For example, inresponse to user selection (e.g., 2274) of the “Allen Cook” contact icon2285-2, the device displays UI 2200N (FIG. 22N) which contains thecontact information of “Allen Cook.”

In some embodiments, email addresses and other information associatedwith the contact that is not relevant to sending instant messages aregrayed-out in the user interface showing the selected recipient'scontact information (not shown in FIG. 22N).

In response to detecting user selection of the hide detail icon (e.g.,2286 FIG. 22M), the device replaces (2910) the set of contact icons 2285with the multi-recipient identifier 2261 (e.g., “Mike Van Os, Tom, AllenCook” FIG. 22L).

FIGS. 23A-23L illustrate exemplary user interfaces for displayingincoming instant messages while the device is in locked and unlockedmode in accordance with some embodiments. The user interfaces in FIGS.23A-23L are described in more detail below. In addition the userinterfaces in FIGS. 23A-23L are used to illustrate the processesdescribed with reference to FIGS. 30A, 30B and 31A-31C below.

FIG. 23A illustrates an exemplary user interface for unlocking aportable electronic device in accordance with some embodiments. In someembodiments, user interface 2300A includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   An unlock image 302 that is moved with a finger gesture        (sometimes called the unlock gesture) to unlock the device;    -   Arrow 304 that provides a visual cue to the unlock gesture;    -   Channel 306 that provides additional cues to the unlock gesture;    -   Time 308;    -   Day 310;    -   Date 312; and    -   Wallpaper image 314.

FIG. 23B illustrates an example of a user interface UI 2300B fordisplaying, while device remains locked (also called in locked mode), anincoming message from a party to the user of the device and fordisplaying an unlock icon or view icon in accordance with someembodiments. In particular, FIG. 23B shows an incoming message from Janesent to the user of the device. A portion of the message is displayedbecause the message is longer than a predefined length. The “slide tounlock” icon 306 of FIG. 23A also changes to a “slide to view” icon2214.

In some embodiments, UI 2300B includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   302, 304, 308, 310, 312, and 314 as described above;    -   name of the party 2210 that sent the incoming message to the        user of the device;    -   a portion of the incoming message 2212;    -   a long message indicia 2211 indicating the incoming message is        longer than a predefined length; and a    -   slide to view image 2214 (in place of the slice to unlock image        306, of UI 2300A, FIG. 23A) that in response to a gesture (e.g.,        a finger sliding gesture), immediately displays a set of        messages between the user of the device and the party in a        chronological order.

FIG. 23C illustrates an exemplary user interface 2300C for displaying amessage alert on the touch screen display in accordance with someembodiments. In particular, FIG. 23C shows an incoming message as analert. If the user ignores the message shown in UI 2300B for at least apredetermined period of time, FIG. 23B, the displayed message of UI2300B is reduced to a message alert as shown on FIG. 23C, and the “slideto view” icon 2214 changes back to the “slide to unlock” icon 306. Theuser is determined to have ignored the message shown in UI 2300B for atleast the predetermined period of time if no user request to view theincoming message (e.g. a finger gesture 2213 on the view icon 2214 FIG.23B) is detected within a predetermined period of time.

In some embodiments, UI 2300C includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   302, 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, and 314 as described above; and    -   a message alert 2302 that includes the identifier of the party        (e.g., “Jane Doe”) and a time indicator (e.g., “9:14 am, today”)        for the incoming message.

FIG. 23D illustrates an example of a user interface 2300D allowing theuser to respond to the incoming message. In this example, FIG. 23D showsan instant message conversation between the user and Jane Doe. If theuser chooses to view the message (from FIG. 23B), the device displays amessage response UI 2300D (FIG. 23D), which allows the user to respondto Jane's message. In this example, the user's responds with a messagehaving the text “Great idea!” The messages appear in chronological orderwith the user's response at the end.

In some embodiments, UI 2300D displays the incoming message in itsentirety 2216, the user's response to the incoming message 2215, andelements already discussed with respect to UI 2200G (FIG. 22G).

FIG. 23E illustrates an example of a user interface 2300E fordisplaying, while the device is unlocked, an incoming message having alength that is less than or equal to a predefined length according tosome embodiments. In this example, FIG. 23E shows an incoming messagereceived while the device is in unlocked mode and while a non-messagingapplication (e.g., Camera Roll) is in use. The message 2218 is displayedon top of the non-messaging application. Here, the device displays theentire message because the incoming message is shorter than thepredefined length. The UI 2300E includes icons 2220, 2222 that enablethe user to either reply to the message or close the message.

In some embodiments, user interface 2300E includes the followingelements, or a subset or superset thereof:

-   -   the incoming message in its entirety 2218;    -   a close icon 2220 that when activated ceases the display of the        incoming message or a portion thereof, and    -   a reply icon 2222 that when activated immediately displays a set        of messages between the user and the party in a chronological        order (see, for example, UI 2300H, FIG. 23H).

FIGS. 23F-23G illustrate examples of user interfaces for displaying alist of instant messaging conversations between the user and otherparties, and for displaying the status of the incoming message. In someembodiments, user interfaces 2300F-2300G include elements alreadydiscussed with respect to UI 2200A (FIG. 22A) and UI 2200F (FIG. 22F).FIG. 23F shows an example of a list of instant messaging conversations.There are conversations listed for Patrick, Jane Doe, and Tom. An unreadmessage indicia 2206 is displayed next to the list entries for theconversations with Patrick and Tom. If the user ignores the messagepop-up on FIG. 23E (user does not select either close or reply),Patrick's message will be marked as unread because the device assumesthat the user did not read the message.

FIG. 23G shows another example of a list of instant messagingconversations, similar to the list in FIG. 23F. However, in thisexample, only the list entry for the conversation with Tom has an unreadmessage indicia next to it. The list entry for the conversation withPatrick does not have an unread indicia next to it because, in thisexample, A) the last message from Patrick was displayed in its entirety(as shown in FIG. 23D), and B) the user chose to close the message, forexample by touching the close icon 2220 shown in FIG. 23E. BecausePatrick's entire message was displayed (FIG. 23E) and because the userchose to close the message, the device assumes that the user read themessage, and therefore does not mark the message as unread.

FIG. 23H illustrates an example of a user interface 2300H for composinga reply message and for displaying a set of messages including theincoming message. The user interface 2300H is displayed, for example,after the user chooses (e.g., by touching with a finger) the “Reply”icon 2222 in UI 2300E (FIG. 23E). In this example, FIG. 23H shows aplurality of the most recent messages from the instant messagingconversation between the user and Patrick, and a soft keyboard forentering a reply message. The UI 2300H enables the user to respond toPatrick's message. In some embodiments, user interface 2300H includeselements already discussed with respect to UI 2300D (FIG. 23D),including an incoming message 2223-1 and reply to the incoming message2223-2.

FIG. 23I illustrates an example of a user interface 23001 fordisplaying, while the device is unlocked, an incoming message that islonger than a predefined length according to some embodiments. UI 23001shows a portion of an incoming message when the device is unlocked and anon-messaging application is in use. Only a portion of the message isdisplayed because the message is longer than a predefined length. Theuser can read the entire message by either scrolling the message with ascroll bar 2232, or by selecting the View icon 2230. The user can alsoselect the Close icon 2228 to close the displayed message. Note, thatthe sender of the incoming message in this example is designated by aphone number and not a contact name. The phone number from which amessage is received may be displayed when the phone number is not foundin the user's contact list, or if the phone number is found in theuser's contact list by the contact list entry does not include a name.

In some embodiments, UI 23001 includes the following elements, or asubset or superset thereof:

-   -   a View icon 2230 that when activated immediately displays a set        of messages between the user of the device and the party in a        chronological order. The displayed set of messages includes the        incoming message;    -   a Close icon 2228 that when activated within a predetermined        period of time of the message (or message portion) first being        displayed, causes the incoming message or a portion thereof to        no longer be displayed;    -   a long message indicia (e.g., an ellipsis, “ . . . ”) 2229; and    -   a scroll indicator 2232 that when activated allows the user to        scroll through the message.

FIG. 23J illustrate an example of a user interface 2300J for displayinga list of instant messaging conversations between the user and otherparties, and for displaying the status of the incoming message. In thisexample, FIG. 23J shows a list of instant messaging conversationsbetween the user and other parties that is displayed after the userchooses to close the message shown in FIG. 23I without scrolling throughthe message, or when the user does not respond to the message pop-upwithin a predetermined period of time. The conversation that includesthe incoming message (from 408-123-4567) is designated with an unreadmessage indicia. It is noted that, because only a portion of theincoming message was displayed, and the user did not scroll through theremainder of the message, the user did not read the entire incomingmessage. In some embodiments, user interface 2300J includes elementsalready discussed with respect to UI 2200A (FIG. 22A), UI 2200F (FIG.22F), UI 2200P (FIG. 22P) and UI 2200Q (FIG. 22Q).

FIG. 23K illustrates an example of a user interface 2300K for displayinga set of messages between the user of the device and the party that sentthe incoming message in a chronological order according to someembodiments. UI 2300K includes the text of the entire incoming message2223. UI 2300K of FIG. 23K is display, for example, when the userselects the view icon 2230 in UI 23001, FIG. 23I. In FIG. 23K, the usercan view all messages, or at least all recent messages, between the userand the 408-123-4567 party. UI 2300K optionally includes a scroll barwhen the messages in the conversation do not fit on the touch screendisplay. To reply to the incoming message, or to otherwise add anothermessage to the conversation, the user can click on the text box for theincoming message, which will cause the device to display a soft keyboard(see, for example, UI 2300L of FIG. 23L). In some embodiments, userinterface 2300K includes elements already discussed with respect to UI2300H (FIG. 23H) and UI 2300D (FIG. 23D).

FIG. 23L illustrates an example of a user interface 2300L for displayinga set of outgoing messages between the user and the sender of theincoming message, and for composing a reply message. FIG. 23L shows asoft keyboard through which the user can reply to an incoming message,or to otherwise add a message to a conversation. In the example shown inFIG. 23L, the user replies with “Enjoy the trip!,” which is subsequentlyappended to the end of the displayed set of messages between the userand the other party. In some embodiments, UI 2300L includes elementsalready discussed with respect to UI 2300D (FIG. 23D) and UI 2300H (FIG.23H).

FIGS. 30A-30B are flow diagrams illustrating an example of a process fordisplaying an incoming message while the device is in locked mode inaccordance with some embodiments.

The device displays (3004) an incoming message (e.g., 2212 FIG. 23B)from a party (e.g., “Jane Doe” 2210) to a user of the device on thetouch screen display while the device is locked. In some embodiments,the incoming message is a Short Messaging Service (SMS), MultimediaMessaging Service, Enhanced Messaging Service (EMS), eXtensibleMessaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) message.

In some embodiments, the device displays (3006) a portion of theincoming message (e.g., 2212) on the touch screen display while thedevice is locked and a long-message indicia (e.g., an ellipsis, “ . . .” 2211) if the incoming message is longer than a predefined length. Thedevice displays (3008) the incoming message in its entirety on the touchscreen display while the device is locked if the incoming message isequal to or less than the predefined length.

In some embodiments, while the device is locked, the unlock icon (e.g.,“Slide to unlock” 306 FIG. 23A) is changed (3010) to a view icon (e.g.,“Slide to view” 2214, FIG. 23B) when displaying the incoming message.The unlock icon may have a “Slide to unlock” or similar label. The viewicon may have a “Slide to view” or similar label.

Operations 3006 and 3008 (displaying the message) can happen eitherbefore or after operation 3010 (adaptively displaying the view icon andthe unlock icon.).

In some embodiments, if no user selection of the view message icon isdetected within a predetermined period of time, the device ceases (3012)to display the incoming message on the touch screen display; and changes(3012) the view icon (e.g., 2214) back to the unlock icon (e.g., 306,FIG. 23A).

In response to detecting a user request (e.g., finger gesture 2213, FIG.23B) to view the incoming message, the device immediately displays(3014) a set of messages between the user of the device and the party ina chronological order (e.g., UI 2300D FIG. 23D). The set of messagesincludes the incoming message (e.g., 2216).

In some embodiments, after the user sends a reply to the incomingmessage, the device automatically reverts to locked mode. In some otherembodiments, after the user sends a reply to the incoming message, thedevice reverts to locked mode after a predefined period of time elapses.

In some embodiments, if no user request to view the incoming message isdetected within a predetermined period of time, the device ceases (3016)displaying the incoming message on the touch screen display after thepredetermined period of time. For example, in FIG. 23B, if the devicedoes not detect a request to view the incoming message (e.g., a fingergesture 2213 on the view icon 2214), the device ceases to display themessage (e.g., 2212) on the touch screen display.

In some embodiments, after ceasing to display the incoming message, thedevice displays (3018) a message alert (e.g., 2302 FIG. 23C) on thetouch screen display. In the example shown in FIG. 23C, the messagealert 2302 includes an identifier of the party and a time indicator forthe incoming message.

After ceasing to display the incoming message, in response to detectinga user request (e.g., a finger gesture 2304 on the “Slide to unlock”icon 306 FIG. 23C) to unlock the device, the device is unlocked (3020).Furthermore, in response to detecting a user selection of an instantmessaging icon, the device displays (3022) a list of instant messagingconversations. The list includes an unread message indicia (e.g., 2267FIG. 23F) adjacent to the conversation between the user of the deviceand the party.

In some embodiments, if no user request to view the incoming message isdetected within the predetermined period of time, the device marks(3024) a conversation that includes the incoming message as containingat least one unread message. Operations 3018, 3020, 3024 may happen inany order.

FIGS. 31A-31C are flow diagrams illustrating an exemplary process 3200for displaying an incoming message to the user of the device when thedevice is unlocked (3202), in accordance with some embodiments. Thedevice displays (3204) a portion of an incoming message from a party toa user of the device, a view icon (e.g., 2230 FIG. 23I), and along-message indicia (e.g., “ . . . ” 2229) on the touch screen displayif the incoming message is longer than a predefined length. In someembodiments, if the incoming message is longer than the predefinedlength the device also displays a scroll indicator (e.g., 2232 FIG. 23I)for viewing the entire message. There may also be a close icon (e.g.,2228) for closing the message.

The device displays (3206) the incoming message (e.g., 2218 FIG. 23E)from the party to the user of the device and a reply icon (e.g., 2222)on the touch screen display if the incoming message is equal to or lessthan the predefined length. For example, in UI 2300E, the entire message2218 (“Hello! Free for lunch today?”) is displayed. In some embodiments,there may also be a Close icon (e.g., 2220) in addition to the replyicon (e.g., 2222).

In response to detecting user selection of either the view icon (e.g.,2230 FIG. 23I) or the reply icon (e.g., 2222 FIG. 23E), the deviceimmediately displays (3208) a set of messages between the user of thedevice and the party in a chronological order (e.g., 2223 FIG. 23H). Theset of messages includes the incoming message (e.g., 2223-1).

In some embodiments, in response to detecting a user selection of thereply icon (e.g., 2222 FIG. 23E), the device displays (3210) a softkeyboard, a text box, and a send icon on the touch screen display, inaddition to displaying the set of messages (e.g., 2223).

In some embodiments, the device displays (3212) the incoming message(e.g., 2218 FIG. 23E) or a portion thereof (e.g., 2225 FIG. 23I), eitherthe view icon (e.g., 2230 FIG. 23I) or the reply icon (e.g., 2222 FIG.23E), and a close icon (e.g., 2220 FIG. 23E, 2228 FIG. 23I) on the touchscreen display for a predetermined period of time.

If no user selection of the view icon, the close icon, or the reply iconis detected within the predetermined period of time, the device ceases(3214) to display the incoming message or a portion thereof, either theview icon and the reply icon, and the close icon on the touch screendisplay after the predetermined period of time

In some embodiments, after ceasing to display the incoming message orportion thereof, either the view icon and the reply icon, and the closeicon, in response to detecting user selection of an instant messagingicon, the device displays (3216) a list of instant messagingconversations. The list includes an unread message indicia (e.g., 2206next to the first conversation on FIG. 23J or 2206 next to the firstconversation on FIG. 23F) adjacent to the conversation between the userof the device and the party.

In some embodiments, if no user selection of any of the view icon, theclose icon, or the reply icon is detected within the predeterminedperiod of time, the device marks (3218) a conversation that includes theincoming message as containing at least one unread message.

In some embodiments, the device displays (3220) the incoming message(e.g., 2218 FIG. 23E), either of the view icon (e.g., 2230 FIG. 23I) andthe reply icon (e.g., 2222 FIG. 23E), and a close icon (e.g., 2220) onthe touch screen display for a predetermined period of time.

In response to detecting user selection (e.g., a finger tap gesture) ofthe close icon (e.g., 2228 FIG. 23I) within a predetermined period oftime, the device ceases (3222) to display the incoming message orportion thereof (e.g., 2225, FIG. 23I), either the view icon (e.g., 2230FIG. 23I) or the reply icon (e.g., 2222 FIG. 23E), and the close icon(e.g., 2228 FIG. 23I) on the touch screen display.

In some embodiments, after ceasing to display the incoming message orportion thereof, either the view icon (e.g., 2230 FIG. 23I), and thereply icon (e.g., 2222 FIG. 23E), and the close icon (e.g., 2228), inresponse to detecting a user selection of an instant messaging icon(e.g., icon 141, FIG. 4, in a user interface that displays applicationicons), the device displays (3224) a list of conversations (e.g., FIG.23J). The list includes an unread message indicia (e.g., 2206) adjacentto the conversation between the user of the device and the party if theincoming message is longer than the predefined length (e.g., 2229 FIG.23J).

In some embodiments, after detecting the user selection of the closeicon (e.g., 2228 FIG. 23I), the device marks (3226) a conversation thatincludes the incoming message as containing at least one unread messageif the incoming message is longer than the predefined length (see FIG.23J). Otherwise, if the incoming message is equal to or less than thepredefined length (e.g., 2218, FIG. 23E), the device marks (3208) theconversation that includes the incoming message as containing no unreadmessages (see FIG. 23G).

The foregoing description, for purpose of explanation, has beendescribed with reference to specific embodiments. However, theillustrative discussions above are not intended to be exhaustive or tolimit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modificationsand variations are possible in view of the above teachings. Theembodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and its practical applications, to therebyenable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention andvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: at a portable electronicdevice with a touch screen display: displaying a list of instantmessaging conversations including a group conversation, wherein: thegroup conversation includes a first multi-recipient identifier and agroup conversation indicia, the group conversation indicia correspondsto a set of outgoing messages from a user of the device to multiplerecipients, and the first multi-recipient identifier and the groupconversation indicia are distinct from one another; in response todetecting a user selection of the group conversation, displaying the setof outgoing messages from the user of the device to multiple recipientsin a chronological order and displaying a detail icon adjacent to asecond multi-recipient identifier; in response to detecting a userselection of the detail icon, replacing the second multi-recipientidentifier with a set of contact icons, each contact icon representingone of the multiple recipients; in response to detecting a userselection of one of the set of contact icons, displaying contactinformation of a corresponding recipient; receiving a new outgoingmessage for the group conversation entered by the user of the devicethrough the touch screen display; and in response to detecting a userrequest to send the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients:sending the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients in the groupconversation; and appending the new outgoing message to the set ofoutgoing messages displayed on the touch screen display.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the first multi-recipient identifier identifies asubset, not all, of the multiple recipients and the secondmulti-recipient identifier identifies all of the multiple recipients. 3.The method of claim 1, further including: displaying an error messageindicating a communication error in connection with sending the newoutgoing message to at least one of the multiple recipients; displayinga resend-message icon on the touch screen display; and resending the newoutgoing message to the at least one of the multiple recipients inresponse to a user selection of the resend-message icon.
 4. The methodof claim 1, further including: after appending the new outgoing messageto the set of outgoing messages, displaying the list of conversations inresponse to detecting a user request to return to the list ofconversations; and updating the display of the group conversation in thelist of conversations by replacing a previously-displayed outgoingmessage associated with the group conversation with the new outgoingmessage.
 5. The method of claim 1, further including: receiving a replymessage from a recipient in the multiple recipients in response to thenew outgoing message, wherein there is an existing conversation betweenthe user of the device and the recipient in the list of conversations;updating the existing conversation between the user of the device andthe recipient by appending the reply message to previous messages in theexisting conversation between the user of the device and the recipient;and in response to detecting a user selection of the existingconversation between the user of the device and the recipient,displaying the reply message and the previous messages in the existingconversation between the user of the device and the recipient.
 6. Themethod of claim 1, further including: in response to detecting a userselection of the detail icon, replacing the detail icon with a hidedetail icon; and in response to detecting a user selection of the hidedetail icon, replacing the set of contact icons with the secondmulti-recipient identifier.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein one of theset of contact icons is a telephone number.
 8. A portable electronicdevice, comprising: a touch screen display; one or more processors;memory; and one or more programs, wherein the one or more programs arestored in the memory and configured to be executed by the one or moreprocessors, the programs including instructions for: displaying a listof instant messaging conversations including a group conversation,wherein: the group conversation includes a first multi-recipientidentifier and a group conversation indicia, the group conversationindicia corresponds to a set of outgoing messages from a user of thedevice to multiple recipients, and the first multi-recipient identifierand the group conversation indicia are distinct from one another; inresponse to detecting a user selection of the group conversation,displaying the set of outgoing messages from the user of the device tomultiple recipients in a chronological order and displaying a detailicon adjacent to a second multi-recipient identifier; in response todetecting a user selection of the detail icon, replacing the secondmulti-recipient identifier with a set of contact icons, each contacticon representing one of the multiple recipients; in response todetecting a user selection of one of the set of contact icons,displaying contact information of a corresponding recipient; receiving anew outgoing message for the group conversation entered by the user ofthe device through the touch screen display; and in response todetecting a user request to send the new outgoing message to themultiple recipients: sending the new outgoing message to the multiplerecipients in the group conversation; and appending the new outgoingmessage to the set of outgoing messages displayed on the touch screendisplay.
 9. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium havingstored therein instructions, which when executed by a portableelectronic device with a touch screen display, cause the device to:display a list of instant messaging conversations including a groupconversation, wherein: the group conversation includes a firstmulti-recipient identifier and a group conversation indicia, the groupconversation indicia corresponds to a set of outgoing messages from auser of the device to multiple recipients, and the first multi-recipientidentifier and the group conversation indicia are distinct from oneanother; in response to detecting a user selection of the groupconversation, display the set of outgoing messages from user of thedevice to multiple recipients in a chronological order and display adetail icon adjacent to a second multi-recipient identifier; in responseto detecting a user selection of the detail icon, replace the secondmulti-recipient identifier with a set of contact icons, each contacticon representing one of the multiple recipients; in response todetecting a user selection of one of the set of contact icons, displaycontact information of a corresponding recipient; receive a new outgoingmessage for the group conversation entered by the user of the devicethrough the touch screen display; and in response to detecting a userrequest to send the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients:send the new outgoing message to the multiple recipients in the groupconversation; and append the new outgoing message to the set of outgoingmessages displayed on the touch screen display.
 10. A graphical userinterface on a portable electronic device with a touch screen display,comprising: a list of instant messaging conversations between a user ofthe device and one or more respective other persons, the list ofconversations including a group conversation that includes a firstmulti-recipient identifier and a group conversation indicia, the groupconversation indicia corresponding to a set of outgoing messages from auser of the device to multiple recipients, and the first multi-recipientidentifier and the group conversation indicia being distinct from oneanother, wherein: in response to detecting a user selection of the groupconversation, the set of outgoing messages from the user of the deviceto multiple recipients is displayed in a chronological order and adetail icon is displayed adjacent to a second multi-recipientidentifier; in response to detecting a user selection of the detailicon, the second multi-recipient identifier is replaced with a set ofcontact icons, where each icon represents one of the multiplerecipients; in response to detecting a user selection of one of the setof contact icons, contact information of a corresponding recipient isdisplayed; a new outgoing message for the group conversation entered bythe user of the device is received through the touch screen display; andin response to detecting a user request to send the new outgoing messageto the multiple recipients, the new outgoing message is sent to themultiple recipients in the group conversation and the new outgoingmessage is appended to the set of outgoing messages displayed on thetouch screen display.
 11. The graphical user interface of claim 10,wherein: after the user request to send the new outgoing message isprocessed, one or more user interface objects associated with anon-messaging application are displayed on the touch screen display; anerror message indicating a communication error in connection withsending the new outgoing message to at least one of the multiplerecipients and a resend-message icon are displayed on the touch screendisplay; and the new outgoing message is resent to the at least one ofthe multiple recipients in response to a user selection of theresend-message icon; and the error message ceases to be displayed. 12.The device of claim 8, wherein the first multi-recipient identifieridentifies a subset, not all, of the multiple recipients and the secondmulti-recipient identifier identifies all of the multiple recipients.13. The device of claim 8, including instructions for: displaying anerror message indicating a communication error in connection withsending the new outgoing message to at least one of the multiplerecipients; displaying a resend-message icon on the touch screendisplay; and resending the new outgoing message to the at least one ofthe multiple recipients in response to a user selection of theresend-message icon.
 14. The device of claim 8, including instructionsfor: after appending the new outgoing message to the set of outgoingmessages, displaying the list of conversations in response to detectinga user request to return to the list of conversations; and updating thedisplay of the group conversation in the list of conversations byreplacing a previously-displayed outgoing message associated with thegroup conversation with the new outgoing message.
 15. The device ofclaim 8, including instructions for: receiving a reply message from arecipient in the multiple recipients in response to the new outgoingmessage, wherein there is an existing conversation between the user ofthe device and the recipient in the list of conversations; updating theexisting conversation between the user of the device and the recipientby appending the reply message to previous messages in the existingconversation between the user of the device and the recipient; and inresponse to detecting a user selection of the existing conversationbetween the user of the device and the recipient, displaying the replymessage and the previous messages in the existing conversation betweenthe user of the device and the recipient.
 16. The device of claim 8,including instructions for: in response to detecting a user selection ofthe detail icon, replacing the detail icon with a hide detail icon; andin response to detecting a user selection of the hide detail icon,replacing the set of contact icons with the second multi-recipientidentifier.
 17. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9, whereinthe first multi-recipient identifier identifies a subset, not all, ofthe multiple recipients and the second multi-recipient identifieridentifies all of the multiple recipients.
 18. The computer readablestorage medium of claim 9, including instructions which cause the deviceto: display an error message indicating a communication error inconnection with sending the new outgoing message to at least one of themultiple recipients; display a resend-message icon on the touch screendisplay; and resend the new outgoing message to the at least one of themultiple recipients in response to a user selection of theresend-message icon.
 19. The computer readable storage medium of claim9, including instructions which cause the device to: after appending thenew outgoing message to the set of outgoing messages, display the listof conversations in response to detecting a user request to return tothe list of conversations; and update the display of the groupconversation in the list of conversations by replacing apreviously-displayed outgoing message associated with the groupconversation with the new outgoing message.
 20. The computer readablestorage medium of claim 9, including instructions which cause the deviceto: receive a reply message from a recipient in the multiple recipientsin response to the new outgoing message, wherein there is an existingconversation between the user of the device and the recipient in thelist of conversations; update the existing conversation between the userof the device and the recipient by appending the reply message toprevious messages in the existing conversation between the user of thedevice and the recipient; and in response to detecting a user selectionof the existing conversation between the user of the device and therecipient, display the reply message and the previous messages in theexisting conversation between the user of the device and the recipient.21. The computer readable storage medium of claim 9, includinginstructions which cause the device to: in response to detecting a userselection of the detail icon, replace the detail icon with a hide detailicon; and in response to detecting a user selection of the hide detailicon, replace the set of contact icons with the second multi-recipientidentifier.